Web of Secrets
by fantailsky
Summary: After their parents death, Helga goes to live with her perfect sister Olga and her perfect husband. But as Helga quickly discovers, everything is far from perfect for the perfect couple. And it's only going to get worse . . . (Trigger warnings for later chapters, hence the rating upgrade)
1. Chapter 1

(I don't own Hey Arnold charcters)

"Move it or lose it, loser!" her voice carried above all the others in the hallway. People moved out of her way without being told. Some glared, some cringed, some looked at her with admiration.

Helga Pataki brought out many different feelings in many different people in her school. Even some teachers were scared of her. Her English teacher had become so dismayed with her, that she had almost quit! The girl was intelligent, extremely intelligent, and it was intimidating, as she wasn't ashamed to show it as she once had been. She had sought help in the end from one of her old teachers, Mr. Simmons. He'd shared all his "tips and tricks" to dealing with her, and it had helped a great deal, the teachers confidence coming back. In reality Mr. Simmons had pulled Helga aside and told her to play nice, because she was scaring her teachers and that wasn't going to get her far. Helga sighed in annoyance, but took his advice.

Something that had caused so much friction between her and her best friend, that they had stopped talking. Helga's goal was to graduate and get the hell out of Hillwood and far from her family. She had seethed when Phoebe had thrown her fits at her and they had screamed at each other, Helga screaming she wasn't going to hold herself back and relegate herself to some half-life just to make Phoebe feel good about herself. She needed to get those top grades to get into her University of choice in France. She needed to escape, and if Phoebe didn't like it, tough.

Phoebe had shot back, putting who she was as a person down, and telling her that that was why no guy would date her. When Helga had informed her she wasn't interested in dating anyone, Phoebe hit low, hissing "not even Arnold?"

That was when a line was crossed, and said boy stepped in, and told them both to calm down, take a breather, and go their separate ways. Helga had spun on her heel and marched away, leaving everyone who had witnessed the tiff behind, silent and stunned. Arnold had found her that afternoon sitting in Tina Park, staring across the lake. He had tried to comfort her with words but she'd pulled away and left him sitting there. He'd heard the whole thing. Arnold didn't date girls, and it was both by his choice and not. He wanted to follow in his parents footsteps, and he saw girlfriends as a distraction. Especially going by what he'd seen happen to his friends. It wasn't that he didn't like Helga. She had mellowed, and when they were together they did have fun, and there was feelings. But, like Helga, he needed those top grades. He needed scholarships.

She never spoke a word to him or anyone from the old gang again.

She became a solitary creature, studying, staying home on weekends instead of going to parties. Arnold once saw her working on her portfolio. He had looked over her shoulder and commented on how she should try drawing him. She hadn't answered. He wasn't deterred.

Then in Junior year it happened . . .

* * *

"Will Helga Pataki please come to the office, please? Helga Pataki to the office. Thankyou."

The whole class looked first at the intercom, then at Helga. Some ohhed doom and laughed. Helga rolled her eyes and walked out of the classroom, leaving her bag behind. Arnold noticed it, and when class finished and she hadn't returned he had grabbed it. And spent the rest of the day lugging it around.

"Man, why are you bothering?" Gerald had asked him. "It's not like she's going to thank you."

"I'm not doing it for the thanks," he told him. "I'll drop it off at her house after school."

Gerald just shook his head. This is why girls wanted to date Arnold. He was nice to a fault. And he had heard girls mention how nice it would be to have him for a boyfriend because he would carry their bags and was such a gentleman. When Arnold had turned down many of them though, it had turned to musings that maybe he was gay. When Gerald's team mates asked him about it, he would shake his head and tell them Arnold had a girl on his mind, and he wasn't going to stray from her. Which wasn't a lie. He saw the way Arnold and Helga geled. They were like two pieces of one pie or something. Pie . . . man I'm hungry, he thought. Most from the old gang assumed it was Lila he still held a torch for, though Gerald knew that had ended almost as soon as it had begun in the fourth grade.

After school Arnold got off the bus at Helga's stop and walked the little bit more to her house, then made his way up the steps and rang the doorbell. It took so long for someone to answer that he started to turn around, then he heard it open.

"Yes?" someone asked. Arnold turned to see a tall blonde man standing in the doorway, looking out at him. He had bright blue eyes, and neatly brushed thick blonde hair. Arnold couldn't remember his name, but knew him to be Olga's husband, and Helga's brother in law.

"Um, I'm dropping off some things Helga left behind, and some homework, too," he told him.

"Oh, she's upstairs in her room, just go up," he was told. Then first thing to strike him was how quiet the house was. Usually, in the past, the house was always noisy. Big Bob watching television, or Miriam in the kitchen, Helga's music blaring down the stairs. But today, nothing, but a quiet sobbing coming from the lounge area. Arnold looked in to see Olga sitting there, crying softly. Suddenly he felt very uncomfortable. Something bad had happened, obviously. He watched Olga's husband go over and sit next to her again, while he made his way up the stairs to Helga's room.

* * *

Helga made her way down the hallway, carrying her books. She couldn't believe how immature her classmates were. She knew she wasn't in trouble. What could she be in trouble for? She wracked her brain, trying to think of anything she could have done to get called to the Principal, but kept coming up blank. She never did anything. She came to school, sat in class, ate lunch, studied and went home to study more. When she finally reached the door to the office she took a deep breath, trying to ignore the nervousness in her stomach and the sudden need to pee. Entering, the first thing she noticed was her sister's husband, Steven, sitting there, talking to the office lady. She felt a blush. She had a little, itty bitty crush on her sister's husband. His whole demeaner reminded her of an older version of Arnold. Whenever he came around he always made a point to ask about her life. The day her friendship with Phoebe had ended, he had been over with Olga. He'd been the only one to notice and ask about her mood. She'd told him everything, and he'd given her a hug while she cried. He also knew about the crush she'd had on Arnold, and he hadn't teased her about it.

"At least it's not drugs," was all he'd said when he found out. Helga knew his family was rich and something called "old money". She wasn't sure exactly what his family had done to amass the wealth he had inherited at a young age after his parents deaths, but it was ongoing. Her father had known, and was impressed and that was all she knew.

"Steven?" she asked shocked. Steven turned to her, his face white and eyes red rimmed.

"Hey, kiddo," he said in his usual greeting. He and Olga hadn't made it to Christmas past, so he hadn't seen her in almost two years. Helga had grown boobs since then, though nothing to really boast about. Her mother called her a late bloomer, even though she had been the first of all the girls to get her period. Rhonda had once teased Helga that she was going to forever look like a boy since her period had come bringing nothing else.

"What's going on?" she asked, then looked to her right as a door opened and her sister stepped out. Her face was tear stained and blotchy. It was a curse with their pale skin. There was no way to look elegant while crying.

"Oh, baby sister!" Olga wailed, then hugged her closely and tightly to her. "Mommy and Daddy . . . they're gone!"

Helga frowned and tried to pull away.

"Yeah, but they're back later today," she said nonchalantly.

"No, baby sister, they're not coming back," Olga told her, her voice breaking and a fresh round of tears spilling forth.

"What? What are you talking about?" Helga asked, finally managing to pull herself free. She looked back at Steven who looked at her sadly. "What's going on?"

Olga took a deep, shaky breath.

"Mommy and Daddy are dead."

* * *

Arnold found Helga sitting on her bed and looking out the window. Her eyes were red rimmed, her face blotchy, but she wasn't crying. She hadn't said a word after he had knocked, and continued to just stare out the window. She only took notice of his presence when he sat on her bed. Then she looked at him.

"My parents are gone," she said, blinking. "They're not coming back. All because some drunk felt the need to get behind the wheel and drive."

It hit Arnold then, what had happened.

"I'm sorry, Helga," he said quietly, reaching out and taking her hand. She didn't pull away, so he just sat there holding it. When she started to cry again, he leaned forward and gave her a hug. She didn't even resist, just buried her face into his chest and cried.

"They weren't perfect," she sobbed. "They were far from perfect, but they were still my mom and dad and I loved them, for all I moaned about them. And we had lots of good times together."

Arnold continued to hold her and stay quiet. Helga never talked about her family, so this was some insight he wouldn't normally ever get.

"Every year dad would take me to a musical and we would sit there mocking it all. The music, the performers, the dancing, the costumes, everything. I know it sounds mean, but it was fun. We would even make fun of the people in attendance."

Arnold smiled. At least Helga and her father had found something to bond over.

"And mom and I often went on random road trips to see her mom before she died, or just because. They were always crazy misadventures, but it was always just her and me and something she never did with Olga. It was our thing, just like the musical mocking was mine and dads. Those were our things."

Arnold sat there for a while longer before he heard a knock on the door. Looking he saw Olga's husband standing there, looking in on them, an odd look on his face.

"I'm getting pizza for dinner, do you want to stay?" he asked, looking between him and Helga. Arnold felt Helga nod against his chest.

"Yeah, I just got to call my grandparents to let them know I'm staying,' he said.

"Anything in particular you like?" Arnold shook his head. "Okay, I'll come get you guys when it arrives."

Arnold and Helga were left alone again.

"Thankyou, Arnold," she whispered.

"Anytime."


	2. Chapter 2

(Sorry for all the spelling mistakes!)

 _I'm sorry I didn't come to tell you in person. But I haven't been back at school, and I haven't really wanted to leave the house. Olga didn't tell me until after the wake, or I would have told you then. We're going to go live at their house. Olga plans to put the house on the market then put the funds into a trust for me. I'll write to you again with my address.  
I love you.  
Helga._

Helga took a deep breath and dropped it into the mailbox at the post office they had stopped at. Arnold was the only other person she had wanted to write to, besides Mr. Simmons. No one else mattered. She figured it was the least she could do considering how he had stayed by her side as much as he could during the days after her parents deaths. Olga had arranged for a double funeral, so there were a lot of people present. Her parents, for all the years they had lived together, had lead pretty separate lives, so they had their own friends, workmates and business associates. They had all piled in, along with some of Helga's classmates. She knew they were just there for the show. Except Arnold. He was genuinely there for her. Though she did see Phoebe shed a couple of tears during a eulogy for her mother. She was there with her parents though, so that may have been the only reason she had shown up. She quietly offered her condolences to Helga and her sister then rushed off to stand with Gerald and his friends.

Arnold got her something to eat, and sat with her for a while, until she got over all these people and took off to her room to grieve more privately. Arnold hung around for a while with her in her room, both telling each other their plans for the future, listening to music, but then his grandfather came and got him. He kissed Helga's cheek before he left and held her in a tight hug. They'd decided that if she made it to France and he to England they could still see each other. They've be close enough to, probably even closer than staying in the same country on opposite sides!

It was that evening that Olga had come to tell her of her plan to sell the house. It had stunned Helga to her core. Her parents were only just buried and her sister was selling the house?

"I'm also going through Mommy and Daddy's things tomorrow and donating stuff. We don't need any of it, but if there's anything you think you might want, I'd suggest you go get it tonight," Olga informed her. Helga sat there, stunned. Olga's whole demenor had changed after the mourners had gone. She had gone from sad and devastated to determined and heartless. The surprises kept coming when the next day a real estate agent had shown up and put up a For Sale sign.

Helga had gone into her parents bedroom the night of the funeral and looked around. She went to her mothers jewellery box and just grabbed everything in it. She found her fathers lucky belt and then a small scrapbook with "Me and Helga" on the cover. Opening it she found stubs from the shows, photo's of her and her dad on a fishing trip, a selfie her and her mother had taken on one of their road trips. Each page had a blurb on what was happening, when and where it had happened. Helga closed the book and held it close to her. She had never known her parents had put together something like this! Tears ran down her cheeks, as she quickly grabbed a bottle of her mothers perfume and her dads aftershave, and a few other mementos.

"What's that book?" Olga asked, pointing to it.

"It's a scrapbook Mom and Dad made from all our trips and outings together," Helga said, looking down at the cover. "I never knew they made it."

"They never made anything like that for me," Olga said in a strange voice. Helga looked up at her and saw a strange look on her sisters face. One she had never seen before. One that kind of scared Helga. Which, considering it was Olga, was saying something. It almost looked like jealousy . . .

Helga had put everything in a suitcase and covered it all up with her stuff.

"Don't take too much," Olga told her. "I'll send along for most of it."

Again Helga looked at her sister. Who was this woman who seemed to be so strong all of a sudden. So in charge and organized. She always thought Olga would take her parents passing the worst. But it almost seemed as though she was thriving on the tragedy!

"What about the furniture?" Helga asked.

"It's all being donated. We have everything we need at home," Olga said, waving her hand dismissively. "We have better stuff anyway."

She watched as her sister spun on her heel and walked down to her old room. Helga's eyes started to tear up again. Not only had her parents been ripped away from her, but now she was being ripped away from everything she had ever known. Her home, her room, her neighbourhood, her school and teachers . . . Mr. Simmons! Oh, she had to see him before she left!

She got up, slipped on a jacket and ran down the stairs, pulling the door open.

"Helga, where are you going this late?" Steven asked.

"To see Mr. Simmons," she told him, and then she went out the door and down the steps, but hadn't gotten far when a hand stopped her.

"Helga, it's too late," Steven said, pulling her back. "And it's not safe for a young girl to be running around alone at night."

"But-"

"No buts. If we have time we can go see him tomorrow," Steven told her gently. "If not, you can write him a letter."

A letter! A letter! Mr. Simmons deserved more than a letter from her! But she could see there was no point in arguing with him, so she let herself be led back into the house, his warm large hand closing over hers. She followed him quietly, looking up at him from behind, and sighed. Walking along and holding his hand . . . this was something she had always wanted to do with Arnold. It was such a romantic thing to do. And here she was walking along and holding hands with her brother-in-law. Hardly romantic! Especially seeing as how he still saw her as a "kid".

…..

It was a three hour drive to Olga and Steven's house. Helga actually hadn't been there before, though her parents had. Helga had never been interested in visiting her sister. As the last town dropped away behind them, Helga started seeing clear fields, that turned in forest. She frowned. Exactly where was this house?

Eventually the car slowed down as it came to a huge stone wall that had a huge iron gate. Stonefield Manor was in big letters above it. Helga smirked. Manor? And who the heck had extravagant entryways like this anymore? But as the gates opened, and they drove up the long driveway, Helga knew who. Her sister and her husband. The house finally came into view and Helga's breath caught in her throat. It. Was. Huge! She had never seen a house so big before.

"There must be a hundred bedrooms!" she blurted out. Steven and Olga laughed at her, earning a scowl. Helga didn't like being laughed at.

"Close," Steven said. "There's twenty bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, except downstairs in the servants quarter, where there is six rooms and three bathrooms."

Helga's mouth dropped open. Twenty bedrooms!? What would anyone need with twenty bedrooms?

"When this house was built, we had bigger families," Steven explained. "And of course your kids would get married and have children of their own. So you needed a lot of rooms to accommodate them all."

"But I thought you were an only child?" Helga asked.

"I am," he confirmed. "But a house doesn't grow or shrink based on how many people live in it."

As they pulled up to the huge mansion, Helga couldn't help but smile. 'Eat your heart out Rhonda!' she thought quietly. Oh, how she would love to invite her here and rub her nose in it!

"We have an indoor pool and an outdoor pool, a maze, and a rose garden," Steven told her. "I can't believe you've never come here before."

"I need to get inside and have a bath and a nap!" Olga declared, getting out as the car stopped. "It's been such a drain!"

Steven and Helga sat in the car and watched her climb the stairs.

"How old is this house?" Helga asked, getting out as well. She looked over to see Steven giving Olga a hard stare. At the sound of her voice he looked at her and smiled.

foundation wise, two hundred years, give or take," he informed her. Helga almost fainted. "Of course, that's just a part of the bottom. It's been added to and taken away from every generation. So it depends what part you're asking about."

He got out and grabbed her suitcase. "Well, come on! I'll show you your room, and then if you're up to it, I'll show you around the house and property."

Helga hurried to follow him up the stairs. She didn't know much about house architecture, but she knew it was beautiful. Inside was polished wood floors and walls. There were plush expensive looking rugs on the floor in the entryway. Oh, wow, she was living in a house with an entryway! Steven handed her suitcase to a man standing by the doorway.

"In the room we had Cally get ready," he said.

"Very good, sir," the man said, then walked ahead of them.

"Where's Olga?" Helga asked. Steven made a face.

"In her room no doubt," he said dryly.

Her room? Helga wondered. Didn't she and Steven share a room? If she had a husband as handsome as Steven . . . she blushed and shook her head lightly. Then looked up to see Steven staring at her oddly.

"It's her choice," he said, seemingly reading her thoughts.

"Oh, uh, I, um, okay," Helga said, looking at her feet. Gah. What had happened to her? She used to be the most feared, most loud-mouthed opinionated person in the world. Now she was reduced to a stammering mess in front of her brother-in-law. She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Maybe that was it? So much had changed already so quickly . . .

….

She gazed about her room confused. This didn't look like a bedroom. It looked like a lounge. A small one, sure, but one non the less.

"Your bedroom is through here," Steven told her, opening another door and walking through. Helga followed him in and gasped. A four poster, polished mahogany bed with a blue lace canopy sat in the center against the wall. It was intricately carved with flowers. She looked at the dressing table which looked to match, and the carved doors on the amoire.

"Wow," she breathed. It was amazing. Steven laughed. She walked up to the bed and pulled a cord. A lace curtain fell across, shutting off her view of the top half of the bed. "It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it," he said smiling. "Your sister took hers down. Apparently she kept getting caught in it."

Helga looked back at him again. That was the second time he seemed to have a criticism for her sister. Helga wasn't used to hearing people criticize Olga. Olga was always perfect. Or so everyone thought. Helga knew better. And seemed Steven did, too.

And through this door here," he continued, walking over to another door, "is your bathroom."

Helga followed him through the door and into her own bathroom. She'd had her own bathroom back home, seeing as Olga was no longer home and her parents had an ensuite. The only time she ever had to share was when Olga and Steven came to stay.

There was a claw bath sitting up on a little dais, with gold plated feet and taps, and steps leading up to it. She looked over to see a beautiful shell shaped sink. There were pink candles on little glass dishes on the window sill. There was so much bench space. Everything was so elaborate and over the top that Helga started to feel uncomfortable.

"What do you think?" he asked, looking at her.

"It's . . . big," she finally said. Steven laughed again.

"You'll get used to it all," he told her. "Do you think you're up for a walk around the grounds? Or do you need a nap?"

"I'm up for it," she snapped. In reality she wanted to try out that bath, and climb into bed, maybe have a small cry then go to sleep. She might've considered getting up for dinner. But the way he had asked her sounded more like a challenge. She had the feeling it was also his way of mocking her sister.

"Then follow me," he said, holding out his arm. She took it.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Helga was amazed at everything. He showed her the indoor pool, spa and sauna, then they walked out to the outdoor pool. She couldn't wait to write back and tell Arnold! Maybe she would even take pictures and write all about it to Rhonda Lloyd. Just to show off. This was the kind of place she would dream of having! The outdoor pool was made to look like a rock pool. There was even a small waterfall hiding a cave behind it.

"At night, when you light it up, it's beautiful," Steven told her. "I once set up a romantic dinner here for your sister and i."

"That would have been amazing," Helga breathed. She was swooning. She could easily see herself and Arnold, out here under the night stars, pool lit up . . . maybe they would even take a dip . . .

"It was," Steven admitted. "But I didn't realize at the time that your sister was not a fan of the outdoors. Apparently it was too cold and she could hear a mosquito." Steven followed that with a laugh. Helga smiled but couldn't help but think how ungrateful her sister had been. She would have fallen in love instantly with a man who did something that romantic for her.

"She's just ungrateful," Helga muttered.

"Yeah," she heard Steven say quietly, looking back at the "house".

Once again Helga frowned. She had thought her sister had the perfect marriage. But she was beginning to think that everything wasn't as good as she had thought.


	3. Chapter 3

A month later and Helga still hadn't heard back from Arnold. She couldn't help but feel a bit hurt, and said as much in a letter _and_ email to him. She claimed it was going to be the last letter and email she wrote to him. She poured all her anger and frustration out into them.

Though it wasn't all his fault.

Olga and Steven had arranged for a tutor. She couldn't understand it!

"The closest school is so far away, Helga, it just makes more sense for you to be schooled here," Olga claimed. Steven nodded. Helga had never realised just how much she actually liked having other teenagers around her.

Then there was the silent battle going on between her sister and Steven. She would sometimes overhear their heated, whispered arguments. Olga appeared to be holding out on him. He made accusations, she fired back and there would be doors slammed. Helga acted as though she didn't notice, but she did. Steven would leave early to go to work, and often came back late. Helga wondered if he were having an affair.

That was proven wrong when one night one of his workers phoned looking for Olga. Olga had gone to one of her friends places. Helga had had to go find Colin, the driver, and accompanied him for the drive to pick Steven up. Apparently he had hosted some overseas investors, and after they left had a celebratory drink. And then another and another. One of his workers had found him almost passed out drunk on the floor of his office. Colin shook his head.

"Third time this week," he'd muttered then went in to get Steven. Helga stepped out of the car and stretched her legs. The manor had become a prison. A luxurious one for sure, but one nonetheless. It was so isolated. Not long afterwards, Colin came out carrying an almost unconscious Steven. Colin motioned for her to hop back in the car, and she did after the opening the door for Colin. "Thank you."

Helga just nodded and went around to the other side and got in. Steven looked at her confused for a moment, before seemingly to recognize her.

'Helga! What are you doing here? Where's that wretched sister of yours?" he asked, before falling sideways, his head landing in her lap.

"She's with friends tonight," Helga told him, looking down at him. He just nodded with his eyes closed. A few minutes later she realized he was asleep as soft snores came from him. She looked up to see Colin looking back at them. Helga shrugged and Colin shook his head. "I thought he was having an affair."

"Oh he is, with the bottle," Colin told her, shaking his head. "He's too young to be doing this to himself."

Something else Helga had noticed so far during her stay was that the servants didn't seem to like Olga much, nor she them. Then again, Helga herself hadn't been too impressed. Olga spent a lot of time away from the home. She always had a girl weekend to go away on, sometimes overseas. She could sometimes be gone for a week at a time. In the interim she was left alone with Steven. They were so different and had nothing to really talk about so dinners were always awkward after they had finished telling each other what had happened in their day. Helga went nowhere and saw no one and he just went to and from work. They had already gotten to know each other well: favourite movies, sports, books. In fact books and sports were probably the only thing they really had in common. Steven was surprised at how many and what she had read. Sometimes they got into in depth discussions about a book they read. They had agreed to read the same book at the same time and talk about it.

That was how bored they both were.

The drive home was silent, and once they arrived Helga offered to help Colin take Steven inside. She remembered having to help her dad do this on occasion with her mother. Colin looked surprised when she managed to hold a fair share of Steven's weight.

"Years of playing baseball," Helga explained.

"Oh, Steven likes baseball," Colin told him. "He used to play in high school. Had a lot of promise, but with his parents deaths . . ."

Colin didn't need to finish explaining. Obviously Steven had put his dreams and aspirations on hold to take over the family business. For the first time since she had met him, she felt genuinely sorry for him.

. . . . . .

Helga smirked at him when he shuffled into the dining room the next morning.

"How's the head?" she asked him. He shot her a glare and dropped into a chair. "Not good then?"

"Just coffee this morning, Cally please," he said to the maid. She nodded and left to get him a coffee. Helga was still getting used to having someone run around after her. She had always had to do things herself. Steven was very used to it. Looking at him now she realised she actually couldn't recall a moment of ever seeing him in the kitchen.

"Do you even know how to feed yourself? Like, if Cally died tomorrow, would you survive?" she asked.

"Of course, I have you here," he shot back at her, smiling. Helga scoffed and went back to eating her toast.

"I feel sorry for you already," she told him.

"Your cooking can't be that bad," he said, smiling to Cally as she placed his coffee in front of him.

"Oh, I can cook," she said. "I just don't like the clean up."

Silence fell between them as he drank his coffee and she finished her toast.

"So, what are you up to on this lovely Saturday morning?" he asked suddenly.

Helga thought for a moment. "Swimming I guess, then maybe read and listen to music. Not much else to do around here."

"How about you and I take a trip into the city and see a movie?" he suggested.

Helga perked up instantly. "Really?"

"Yeah, I need to take some time off, but I don't want to hang around the house. And I figured you must be getting bored by now," he said, downing the last of his coffee. "Go get changed and I'll meet you at the car in thirty."

Helga jumped out of her chir and rushed up the stairs and to her room. Finally! She was getting away from here. Oh god, maybe she would see cute boys! Oh, hell, right now she'd settle for anyone. Even Sasqutch! She threw on her best pair of jeans, ran a brush quickly through her hair, grabbed a nice shirt, put on some lip gloss and fluffed out her hair. Her hair was her one vanity. It had been coveted by Rhonda, whose black hair only had depth with highlights. She slipped her shoes on and took off down the stairs, seeing that Steven was already waiting for her by the car.

"Looking good, Helga," he said, laughing as she dove into the car. He got in beside her. Today he was driving. Helga had never been in his personal car. It was a Jag. She settled in against the leather seats, looking over at him with a big smile. "Ready?"

"You betcha!" she said, looking ahead of her. He started the car up and they roared off. He was driving a little faster than nessersary she was sure, and she squealed when the top went down. Steven just laughed and drove a little faster. 'Olga would throw a fit!' Helga thought to herself smiling. "We need music!"

He looked over at her and smiled and turned on the music. Rock music came blasting through the speakers, and Steven laughed at the look of surprise on Helga's face. After she got over the shock she started to sing along, and laughed as she realised Steven was too.

This was already becoming the best day of her life since her parents had died!

. . .

They spent the whole day out. Steven had taken Helga into the city, and they had window shopped, eaten lunch, seen a movie, played some arcade games, and ate dinner at a fancy Italian resturant. She had been able to completely forget everything that had happened, and just relax and enjoy herself.

But when they got home, reality kicked in. Hard.

"Where were you two all day?" Olga's voice boomed down from the top of the stairs.

Both Steven and Helga looked up to see her standing there, glaring down at them. Helga frowned. Until recently she had never known her sister _could_ frown.

"Helga and I took a drive into the city, ate out and saw a movie," Steven told her, turning to take Helga's coat from her. Fall was giving way to winter, and Helga hadn't grabbed a coat. Steven had bought her one while they were out. From a Preda store. Oh, Rhonda would have been _so_ jealous!

"Well, why didn't you let me know you had that planned?" Olga demanded, coming down the stairs. "I would have loved to come. It could have been a family outing."

"You weren't home," Steven pointed out. "And it was spontanious. We didn't plan it at all."

Olga looked between the two of them, and Helga could see the doubt playing on Olga's face.

"Next time, we will properly plan something out," Steven reassured her.

"I have a headache anyway," Olga snapped, rubbing her temples and walking into the kitchen.

"Then go see a doctor," Steven told her. "These headaches have been going on long enough," he said, following her.

Helga stood, watching them go. It had been such a nice day, Steven had focused solely on her, no mention of her sister at all. But now that Olga was back in the frame, as per usual, Helga was forgotten. She sighed, taking off her shoes and making her way upstairs. She was going to have a nice hot bubble bath to warm up, then go to bed.

. . .

Helga tossed and turned but just couldn't sleep. Finally, she gave up and decided to wander down to the indoor pool and have a swim. She was full of nervous energy. She gathered her things, and made her way down through the huge house. It had a creepy, eerie feel about it. There was lighting in the hallway, which Helga thought was a bit odd. You wouldn't really need to leave your room. You had everything you needed, including a lounge and bathroom. Hell, Helga could _live_ in her room! She finally made it to the indoor pool and quickly put on her swimsuit. She made a face. No matter how much she ate, she could just never gain a few pounds. Rhonda couldn't understand why Helga would want to, but Helga did. She looked down and could see her hip bones, and if she lifted her arms, you could easily see her ribs. Her breasts were not large, not even a D cup sadly. She would look perfect on a fashion runway, but that's not what she wanted. Sighing, knowing there wasn't much she could do to change the way she was, she stepped out, and dived into the warm water of the pool.

She had done about four laps when she heard someone else enter the water. She continued to the other end, and once there, looked behind her to see Steven making his way toward her. When he reached the end she was at, he looked at her and smiled.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked.

' _He's gorgeous!_ ' Helga thoguht. She looked away, fearing he could read her random thought. ' _Stop it, Helga!_ '

"I couldn't sleep," she told him. "So I figured I should do something with my time."

"Fair enough," he said, looking at the other end of the pool, then suddenly taking off. Helga stayed where she was for a moment, admiring his physique as he moved through the water, before taking off herself. Now she had something else for her brain to think about. Her brother-in-law! What the hell was wrong with her? He was so much older than her, but so goddamn hot! Now she was getting angry with herself, and she put that into her strokes. Finally after a few more laps her frustration got the better of her, and she got out.

"Your finished?" she heard Steven call out.

"Yeah, I'm done," she called back. She wrapped her towel around her, not wanting him to see her scrawny frame. She was sporty, athletic and strong. But just couldn't get that shapely womanly figure. She must have just been standing there, dwelling on it, because the next thing she knew, he was right beside her.

"You alright?" he asked, touching her bare shoulder. It felt like electricity had come out of his fingers where he touched her, and travelled all over her body.

'Oh, shit!' she realized. Only one other person had been able to do that to her, and that was Arnold. And she had been in love with Arnold, which meant . . .

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just thinking," she said, taking off as fast as she could.

She just had to get away from him!


	4. Chapter 4

"Steven and I are going away for the weekend, Helga," Olga informed Helga one night. "You won't be alone though. You remember Lila, don't you?"

Ugh! How could she forget? Miss Perfect. Miss Sweetness and Cream. How Helga despised the girl . . . and yet . . .

She would be Helga's link to the outside world! At least for a weekend. Finally, someone not related to her, or working there, to talk to and hang out with. Maybe she could find out what was happening to everyone. Including Arnold.

"I remember her, yeah," Helga said. She looked towards Steven who looked a bit concerned.

"Do you really think leaving two teenage girls alone in a big house is wise, Olga?" he asked, glancing apologetically at Helga. She shrugged. _'Please don't convince her otherwise! Even Lila is better than no one at all!'_

"Oh, Lila will be no trouble," Olga assured him. "She goes to an all-girls school. She won't be bringing over boys. And besides, Colin and Cally will be here to keep an eye on them."

Helga swallowed back her disappointment. She had forgotten Lila's father had sent her to an all-girls school after some jerk had tried to take advantage of her at a party. She wasn't there, but had heard about it. Apparently she had texted her dad saying she felt weird and to pick her up, then had gone outside. One of the older boys was trying to talk her into getting into his car with him when her father arrived. Lila had been in tears and had been struggling to get away from him, and his friends. Rhonda and her crew witnessed the whole thing. And instead of aiding her, had just stood there watching. When she had heard she was pretty disgusted at them. They saw Lila in trouble and hadn't even bothered to help her.

"Well, if you're sure," Steven said, going back to his dinner. He looked over at Helga and with a faux stern face growled, "No boys."

Helga scoffed. "I don't know any boys anymore. I don't know _anyone_ anymore. I am a rock, I am an island".

"Simon and Garfunkel, I'm impressed," Steven said, smiling at her. Helga smirked and looked away, her heart doing flip flops. Grr, why him?

Helga had been living with them for a few months. Thanksgiving was literally days away.

"Also, Lila and her father are coming for Thanksgiving," Olga announced. She looked at Steven. "Cally knows."

"You couldn't have run this past me first?" he asked, scowling. "Or at least given me warning?"

"Oh, Steven, you would have only found a reason not to have a party," Olga cried. She turned on her sad look. "We have enough room and space to host dinner parties, and yet you never want to. I also have some other guests coming, friends of mine from the club."

"What club?" Steven asked, looking miffed.

"Oh, really Steven, if you paid more attention to what was going on around here-"

Helga shut out her sister's voice and concentrated on her eating. She wondered if there would be any other young people in attendance, other than her and Lila . . . she had the feeling she shouldn't hold her breath.

. . .

Helga checked her dress again, and her hair. She had a French braid. Basic, but pretty. Her dress was a light blue, with a tight bodice (she had put on a wonder bra. Not much of an improvement, sadly) and the skirt of the dress flared a bit. Her understanding was that she and Lila were fine to have dinner, but afterwards, when the entertainment arrived, they were to go to Helga's room to occupy themselves. Helga had no idea what they were going to do, and she had been quite disappointed to find out that all she was going to experience was dinner.

Finally, she gave her reflection a pout, and made her way downstairs, just as the first guest arrived. She hoped it was Lila and her father, but it wasn't. It was a stuffy looking older couple. They greeted first Olga, with kisses, and Steven with a hand shake. They looked at Helga as she came down.

"Oh, is this the sister we've been hearing so much about?" the woman asked, moving towards her. She was wearing way to much perfume, and on closer inspection, her foundation was heavy. She clearly hadn't used lip liner, either.

"Helga, this is Mr. and Mrs. Grail," Olga said, introducing her to them.

"Hello," she said, unsure what to do next and looking towards her sister for help.

"You look very well for a girl who lost her parents not too long ago," the woman said. Helga took a step back, feeling like she had been slapped.

"Wilma, please," her husband said, stepping forward to take her by the arm. "My wife is . . . unwell."

Helga looked at him like he was crazy. Unwell? That wasn't any excuse to be so rude. Steven showed them into the next room, where the piano was, next to the dining room.

"Dementia," Olga whispered.

"Huh?"

"His wife," Olga explained. "She didn't mean any harm."

Helga blinked away her tears, and held her head high.

"Oh, Lila!" Olga suddenly squealed, and moved forward to hug the newcomer, and greet her father.

Helga looked over with curiosity. She hadn't really paid much attention to Lila after middle school. They'd all been placed in different classes, some went to different schools, and two had moved away. Such was life. But she could see why the boys had targeted Lila. She had that shy, timid look, and while not particularly pretty, she wasn't a horror to look at. She didn't wear much make up. A bit of blush and some lip gloss. Her dress was pretty conservative, but a vibrant green, reaching mid calve. Her hair was in a plait, also. And her boobs! Helga hated her just for that . . . she must be a D, at least!

"Hello, Helga," she greeted, smiling shyly.

"Hey," she grunted. "So, how've you been?"

"Good," Lila answered, then awkward silence decended between them.

"So . . ."

Lila grinned, and looked around, still looking awkward. _Great, and I have a whole weekend alone with her!_

. . .

Helga was impressed with the amount of food, the music, and the number of guests. She and Lila were the youngest there, and while there were a couple of young men, they were still a bit on the old side for them. They had graduated from Universities already. Lila and Helga didn't have much to say to each other, except small talk about her school. For the first time in her life though, Helga was hanging on Lila's every word. She was so hungry for news on what was happening in what she know thought of as "The Outside World".

"I can't believe you haven't heard of this band, Helga!" Lila exclaimed. "I have them on my ipod. Maybe we can listen to them later upstairs?"

"Sure, nothing much else to do," Helga said. "I don't think we'd be allowed to wander through the house in our swimsuits."

"Probably not, but I did bring mine," she told her. "I'm just going to stay from tonight. Daddy is staying only tonight, then leaving tomorrow."

"Do you know where your sleeping?" Helga asked. Lila shook her head. "We should find out. Come on, we'll ask Cally."

After dinner, they made their way into the kitchen where a flustered Cally was trying to create order from chaos.

"Cally, where is Lila sleeping?" Helga asked.

"What? Oh, the room next to yours is ready for her," Cally said, dismissing them and chasing after a waiter with a tray down.

"Guess we'll go mind our teenage business now," Helga said, grabbing Lila's hand and taking her upstairs.

"Helga!" Steven called out. "Before you go, want a dance?"

"Olga said-"

"I know what Olga said, but one dance wont matter." He looked to a young man behind him, who smiled at Lila. "I've even found your friend a dance partner."

Helga took Steven's offered hand and was pulled into a dance. It was a slow one. She was close to his body, one hand on her hip. She looked around and saw her sister through the crowd looking out and chatting to a woman next to her.

"So what are you and Lila going to get up to this weekend?" Steven asked. Helga shrugged. "Really, you can't think of one thing?"

"I spose we could have hot lesbian sex," Helga said, grinning up at him. He looked down at her, raising an eyebrow, but not smiling. He clearly didn't find that amusing. "We'll probably just go horse riding, or swimming, maybe go to the beach. There isn't much else to do."

Steven sighed. "I'm sorry, Helga."

"Don't be," Helga said. "We'll be fine."

. . .

Helga and Lila had both escaped at last, and rushed upstairs and into the room Lila was to stay in. It didn't have it's own little lounge, but it did have it's own bathroom.

"It's . . . wow!" Lila exclaimed, looking around, then flopping down on the plush bed. "It's like a hotel or something!"

"Or something," Helga agreed. Suddenly Lila sat up, and went over to her bag and pulled an envelope out.

"Don't tell anyone," she said, handing it to her.

"What is it?" Helga asked, opening it slowly.

"It's a letter from Arnold," Lila told her.

"Arnold!" Helga shouted.

"Shhhh," Lila said, putting her finger to her lips. "He suspects you haven't been getting his letters and his emails to you keep bouncing back."

"What? But he hasn't written to me or emailed me at all!" Helga said.

"Oh, he has," Lila told her. "I was there one day when he got a message from you to call you, and when he did he got told you were too busy and that they would take a message to pass onto you. But you never got it, I'm guessing?"

Helga could feel her face changing to one of hurt and confusion. Why would anyone here try to keep her from contacting Arnold? Or Arnold contacting her? What were her sister and Steven up to?

"No, I never heard back from him, and just sort of guessed that . . . that he didn't want to know me anymore."

"Well, that's not true," Lila told her.

"How do you know this?" Helga asked, bile starting to come up. _Please don't be dating, please don't be dating!_

"We bumped into each other at Mr. Greens Meats on day, and Arnold asked if I had heard from Olga or you," Lila explained. Helga released her breath. "Anyway, I mentioned that we were invited to a Thanksgiving party here, and he asked me if I would pass a letter onto you, because he was suspicious about whether you were getting them."

Helga's jaw clenched. How dare her sister and Steven do this? How dare they!

"Anyway, he told me how you weren't calling him back, or answering letters or emails, and he was worried about you," Lila went on. "I told him that if I saw you I would talk to you. He gave me his mobile number and told me to get you to call him from my cell phone, but I went one better."

Lila got up again and pulled out a box from her bag. "Consider it an early Christmas and birthday present."

Helga looked to see it was just a very basic cell phone. Probably only about ten dollars, but still. It was hers!

"Is it on a plan?" she asked.

"Nope," Lila said, shaking her head. "Prepay. You just need to top up when you need to."

Helga threw her arms around Lila. Finally! An ally!

"Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you," Helga said, starting to cry.

"I'll give you my number as well," Lila said. "Just don't let your sister or Steven find out about it. I promised your sister I would leave my phone and laptop at home. I thought that was such a weird request. I'm a teenager. I never _don't_ have some kind of technology on me. Which made me figure you didn't have any on you."

"Reception on cell phones is bad here, and I don't know the wi fi password," Helga confessed.

"Really?" Lila asked, shocked. Helga nodded. "What is going on here?"

Helga was beginning to wonder the same thing . . . it was almost as though they were trying to cut her off from the rest of the world.

"Anyway, if you have anything you want me to pass on to Arnold, I will," she said. "I'll drop it off on my way home or something."

. . .

Helga was still seething with her sister and Seven, but thought better of confronting them about it. Okay, Lila talked her out of it. As she pointed out, they'd know that Lila was in contact with Arnold, and if they knew that, they might cut her off from Helga too. Helga thought back to the night Olga had told her and Steven that Lila was coming to stay. Lila was right. Helga had gained a new found respect for the girl. She played the shy, quiet girl, but she was sharp as a whip and just as quick. Helga was impressed. Over the weekend they swam in the pool, walked along the beach, rode horses, played music and went online. Lila used her phone. Arnold wasn't online at the time, and it would cut off every now and then. She learned the whole story, the true story, from her about what happened.

"He'd been harrassing me for weeks," Lila told her. "But I wasn't interested. Not because I'm a lesbian or anything."

"Wouldn't be a problem if you were," Helga said, shrugging. Lila smiled at her.

"Anyway, I had a feeling something wasn't right . . ."

Lila then told her everything that had happened. Rhonda had tried to set her and the guy up. Helga didn't know the guy, though she knew _of_ him. Anyway, Lila had thrown up, her heart was racing, she was feeling major anxiousness, and he was trying to get her into his car. Her dad pulled up and intervened, and took her home, but then to the hospital, worried about what was happening to her when she started struggling to breathe.

"They'd spiked my drink," Lila told her. "And I was having a reaction to what they gave me. I almost died because of it. That's why I never went back to school. The police were told, but nothing ever came of it."

"No surprises there," Helga said.

"No," Lila agreed. "None at all. Anyway, while I was in hospital dad arranged for me to go to Hillwood Girls, so I wouldn't need to see him or Rhonda or any of them again."

. . .

Sunday came too fast, and her father showed up to take her home. She had written a poem and letter for Lila to give to Arnold.

"It's ridiculous that you have to do this," Lila said, shaking her head. "I'll try to find an excuse to go that way either tonight or tomorrow. I don't want my dad seeing it. Just in case."

"Thank you, Lila," Helga said, hugging her.

"Anything for love."

. . .

It took all of Helga's self-control not to launch an attack on her sister and Steven when they got home. But she remembered Lila's words and kept her mouth shut. Lila was, for now, her only way to get messages to and from Arnold. She had to keep that link. The following months were the hardest. She got a Christmas Card from Lila, but nothing from Arnold, despite sending one out. She had to trust that Colin would send it, but she didn't. She was pretty sure any letters or cards she wrote were read then thrown away. It made her so mad.

Her sister threw a Eve of Christmas Eve party, and got ridiculously drunk, played the piano, and flirted with other men right in front of Steven. She could see Steven getting more and more annoyed, and it seemed her sister found it more and more amusing. Helga had left after eating. She didn't really know anyone and was bored anyway.

Helga was awoken by fighting early the next morning.

"How could you embarrass me like that!?" she heard Steven roar. "You were practically suffocating the poor man with your breasts!"

"I'm too tired to stand here arguing with you," she heard her sister say, and then she heard a door slam. She heard someone stomping down the hallway and another door slam. It was the loudest Helga had ever heard them. Usually it was just harsh whispers, just out of ear shot. But in front of people they always acted so perfect. Or they did until last night, anyway.

Steven got his revenge New Years though. They threw another party, and he vanished relatively early. Helga stayed up to see in the New Year, then went to bed. Her sister had allowed her a glass of Champaign!

On her way back to her room she heard giggling coming from the library. Curiosity got the better of her and she opened the door quietly and peeked in. Her eyes went wide, and she pulled away. Steven was in there, with some woman from the party, sitting in a chair, while she rode him. Helga quietly fled to her room, slamming the door behind her. What was going on with her sister and Steven? She had started getting the feeling that things weren't right in their marriage when she first arrived. Everything she had seen, especially recently, was reinforcing that. She wanted to call Lila and talk to her, but then she didn't at the same time. While she was friendly with Lila, she didn't feel comfortable talking to her about something like this, and there was no one else to talk to. A house full of people, and Helga had never felt so alone.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hello, Arnold," Lila said.

"Hey, Lila, did you see her?" he asked, eager to hear anything.

"Yep, and you were right," she said. "She never got your letters, she can't understand why your emails are bouncing back, but we figured someone has blocked them, and she never got your messages that you called. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. My dad has been watching me like a hawk."

"It's fine, but why are you worried?" he asked, concern creeping in. He watched as Lila tried to think of how to form her words.

"I can't help but wonder if he might be spying on me," she admitted.

"Spying on you? Why?" he asked, shocked. Lila shook her head.

"I don't know," she said, pulling a braid. "I just got the feeling that the only reason I even got to go there was because I wasn't in contact with you or anyone else from the old gang. Olga or Steven, or both, seem pretty determined to cut Helga off from the world. Her internet is limited and she's watched, she doesn't have the wi fi password, so her lap top is literally just used for schoolwork. She's being home schooled."

"Home schooled?" Arnold asked, incredulously. "Really?"

"It is very far away from anywhere," Lila said. "I mean, really far. I'd hate to be there when the snow hit. My guess is you wouldn't get out for a while. It's really just her, her sister and Steven and two full time servants. Even her tutor is only there on weekdays."

"Why are they doing that?" he asked. Lila shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"Anyway, she gave me this to give you. Also, here's her mobile number," Lila said, handing over the letter Helga had given her, and the piece of paper with the mobile phones number. "It doesn't receive pictures or anything. Just text and calls. It was the cheapest I could find and afford. But it's something. I better get going before my dad comes looking for me. Bye!"

Arnold watched as Lila took off down the street at a run. He shook his head and started to make his way home, thinking about what Lila had told him. He picked up the pace, wanting to get home before it started to rain, and so that he could read her letter.

His phone rang, but it was Gerald, and he chose to ignore it. Finally reaching the boarding house, just as the rain started to pour down, he went straight up to his room, greeting no one, and ripped the envelope open as soon as he closed his door.

 _Hey Football Head,_

 _So I hear from Miss Perfect you've been trying to contact me. I've gotten nothing from you, I'm not sure if you've been getting anything from me. I have to rely on Colin to send things out for me, or Steven or my sister. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that you hadn't though._

It was true. He hadn't received anything from her. No letters, no emails, just the phone calls that he never seemed to be able to return.

 _Lila also told me your emails were bouncing and that you've been told I'm not home or busy. I'm not. I'm trapped in this huge mansion, that feels like it's getting smaller every day. I'm not looking forward to winter. I heard Colin say something about being completely cut off from the world, and man, have they stocked up on food! They have two huge chest freezers full of meat, and frozen vegetables! They're like squirals!_

Arnold laughed at that one _._

 _Anyway, I'm still alive, and I miss you so much. I actually miss everyone. Crazy huh? Me, the person who hates people, misses being around them._

 _I'm lonely._

 _Anyway, Lila gave me a cheap little phone, but reception is bad here so I don't know how often I will be able to contact you, but when I get a chance I will. I promise._

 _I love you._

 _There, I wrote it._

 _Helga._

Arnold felt his eyes stinging a bit. He'd been worried sick. And the letter hadn't relieved him of his fears. Picking up his mobile phone, he tapped in her number then sent a text.

 _When can we meet up?_

It was weeks before he got a response from her.

. . .

It wasn't until Feburary that he finally got a call from her number.

"Helga?" he asked, answering it.

"Hey Arnold," he heard her voice say on the other end. "How's it going?"

"Yeah, it's aright," he said, leaning back on his bed. "Are you okay?"

There was a long pause from Helga's side, before she finally answered.

"Kind of, I mean, I'm not going to die or anything," she said. "But it would be nice to talk, but I can't talk over the phone. I have no time."

"Well then, when can we meet?"

"I don't know," she told him. "So far only Lila has come over, and even then that was because my sister invited her."

Arnold was quiet for a moment. "What if on Satur-"

"Shit, I have to go, bye!"

Before he could say anything she was gone.

"Dammit!" he said, throwing his phone on the bed. This was so frustrating. He still couldn't send her emails, or letters, and this was the first time he'd heard her voice since that day that felt like forever ago after her parents died. He just couldn't understand what was happening.

. . .

He finally told his grandparents and the boarders what was going on.

"Why wouldn't they want her talking to you?" Ernie demanded. "You're a good boy. They should feel privaleged."

"Yes. You're a very. Good boy," Mr. Hynn added. "Why don't they like you?"

"I don't think it's got anything to do with me personally," he told them. "She doesn't seem to be allowed contact with anyone."

"That's really strange, and something very fishy is going on in that house," Oscar added, looking at his wife, Susie.

"It does seem awfully strange," she agreed. "No contact at all? No internet? Phone access? Nothing?"

Arnold shook his head.

"Well, I hope she's safe there," Phil finally said. "Maybe we'll take a drive up that ways. I hear there's a nice beach, with good fishing up there."

Arnold's hopes flew high.

"But that won't be until Summer," he warned. "That place is nearly uninhabitable during winter."

Arnold's hopes sunk a bit, but still, there was some hope there.

. . .

Christmas and New Years came and went, and still he heard nothing from her. He finally told Gerald everything Lila had told him.

"Mm mm mm, that Pataki lot were always strange," he said.

"What if she's in trouble?" Arnold asked. "Don't you think it's strange that they would keep her so isolated and cut off from other people?"

"It's a great starting pitch for a horror movie all right," Gerald agreed, nodding his head.

"Gerald, I'm serious," he said.

"I don't know, man, maybe there's another explanation?" he said.

"Explanation? Gerald I can't even come up with one, let alone another!"

"Look, wait til Summer, like your grandpa suggested, and then we'll drive up there," Gerald said. "Then we'll find a way to get onto the property and find Helga and go from there."

"Are you serious?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah, got nothing else to do over Summer holidays . . ."


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you okay, Helga?" her tutor asked. "You seem distracted."

Helga looked up at the old woman. She was a retired teacher. She stayed during the week, and went home on the weekends and for holidays. Helga actually liked the old woman a lot. Something about her reminded her of Mr. Simmons. Mr. Simmons . . . she was wondering now if he had been getting her letters . . .

"I just have some personal things on my mind," she said.

"Well, don't let it distract you from your work," she told her, and went back to reading her own book. Helga continued with her work, but it was hard to concentrate when all she could see was her sister with her boobs almost hanging out of her top, while some man drooled at her, and then Steven with that woman . . . it made her feel sick. The fledgling crush she had been developing had crashed and burned after that! Her respect for both him and her sister was gone, and they both had noticed that her attitude towards them had changed. Helga didn't want to do things with Steven anymore. So far she had been lucky in Olga staying around home, constantly moaning about a headache, and having mood swings. At one point Helga wondered if maybe her sister was pregnant, but that had proved false when her sister did a test, freaking out the whole time, and it came back negative. Steven was constantly at her to go to the doctor and get herself checked out, but Olga would refuse.

And Olga . . . she would try to engage with Helga, but Helga wasn't interested. She'd finally sent a message to Arnold, and got a response. But there was only a certain area in the house where she could get good reception, and it was risky bringing it out in case she got caught. And she was terrified that she would be, so that had, so far, been the only communication she'd had with him.

Things got worse when the snow started to fall. When it fell here, there was no way anyone was going anywhere. And quite often they would lose even the phone line and once, the power. It was frustrating for Helga, who couldn't understand why, in this day and age, this could happen, that someone could be completely shut off from the world.

"How do you even run your business if you can't communicate with anyone?" she demanded in frustration one night at dinner. "I can't stand this! I'm going insane! I don't even have my tutor here because she can't get to me!"

She'd stormed off to her room, leaving her dinner unfinished, but not caring. When she got to her room she threw herself on her bed, all princess-dramatic, and started to cry. She eventually cried herself to sleep, but woke when she felt someone was staring at her. She woke with a start, and swore she heard the door to her lounge click shut. She laid perfectly still, her heart thumping, chocking back her fear. Eventually she got up, praying nothing would reach out from under the bed and grab her by the ankles, and walked through the lounge. No one was there, nothing had been moved. Maybe she had been dreaming?

. . .

"Were either of you in my room last night?" Helga asked her sister and Steven in the morning.

"No, why?" Olga asked, while Steven shook his head.

"I thought I heard someone in there last night . . ."

"Maybe you were dreaming," Olga suggested. "I've had those dreams. Scare the bejesus out of me."

Helga looked between the two of them, but they gave nothing away if either were lying. Then again, these two were good at lying. She looked down at her toast, suddenly losing her apatite, and pushed her plate away.

"You need to eat, Helga," Olga said. "You're too skinny for your age."

"Leave her alone, Olga," Steven snapped. Olga glared his way.

"I just don't feel like toast," Helga said. She picked up her glass of water and drank it in one go. She wasn't allowed coffee. Juice if it was watered down. She felt like a toddler. No, even as a toddler, she had more freedom.

"Do you have something to say to us after your outburst last night?" Olga asked, looking straight at her. Helga glared at her.

"Nope."

"Really? Nothing at all?"

"Nope. Nothing. At. All."

Olga and her had a stare down, Olga looking away first. 'What a cheek,' Helga thought. She looked over at Steven who was staring at her hard. "What?"

He just shook his head, finished his breakfast, and left the table, saying nothing to either of them. It didn't go unnoticed by Helga either, the glare that followed him out. All she wanted to do was run away. But really, where was she going to go?

. . .

 _Summer, Grandpa will take us up there to the beach_

Helga almost yelled for joy, but contained it. Hopefully she would see Arnold in the summer. Now how to get to the beach. It was good walk from where she was, but it was walkable. Maybe she could convince them she needed to get out and about. It had to work! She looked out the window of the attic. The snow was starting to melt, and greenery was peeking out in spots. Just another few months and she would be able to leave this house. Maybe take a real good walk around the perimeter, try to find a way to sneak off the property should she need to. The area was wooded, but that could work in her favor, right? It had too.

One night Steven managed to bail her up in the attic.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked, looking around. It was huge, and full of old furniture. Helga jumped. She'd only just put the phone in her pocket.

"Looking," she said, trying not to look guilty. "Out the window. Good view from up here. Trees are turning green."

He walked over to the window she was looking out and looked out himself.

"How far away is the beach?" she asked, sounding as innocent as possible.

"Why? Do you like the beach?" he asked. Helga just nodded. "About an hour to an hour and half walk, or the ten minute drive. Once it's warmer I'm happy to take you. Your sister isn't a beach fan though."

"That's alright. I thought maybe of inviting Lila over during summer," she said. She looked at him and saw him looking at her with a bit of suspicion. "What?"

"I was talking to Olga after Thanksgiving," he said. "From what she said, you and Lila never got along."

"That's because the boy I was in love with had a crush on her," Helga told him. "Plus she was always so cutesy."

"So what's changed?" he asked her, staring her down.

"Life."

. . .

Once spring was in full swing, Helga took a walk around the whole property. It took half an hour to walk around the main perimeter. She found a sturdy looking tree, and gave it a try climbing it. She got up, and looked over, but realized two problems. One, there was no way to climb back over, and two, barbed wire. Why was there barbed wire on top of such a tall fence? She could also hear it humming. Was it electrified? Cripes, talk about security overload! Suddenly she looked around, wondering if there were cameras in the trees. She was stating to get paranoid about being watched. Sighing she jumped down from the tree.

"Night swimming, beach going, now tree climbing?" she heard someone ask behind her. Whirling around she saw Steven standing there, arms folded across his chest. "What are you up to? I mean, really Helga."

She stood there, staring at him, trying desperately to think of a lie.

"Looking for an escape," she blurted out, then smacked herself in the head. _Way to lie, nimrod!_ she berated herself.

"Escape?" he asked, laughing. "There's a front gate. You can push a button and walk out. No need to risk falling from trees."

Helga felt her face burning red. "Yeah, well, I didn't know if I'd be let out."

"Why wouldn't we let you out?" Steven asked.

"I haven't heard from anyone from my old friends," she admitted.

"Well, have you called them?" he asked.

Boom! Olga was responsible. If it was Steven he wouldn't be advising her to call out, would he?

"If you want to call a friend, Helga, just ask," he said. "And stop climbing trees, you might fall out and break something. It's a long drive to A&E."

She stood there watching him walk away, feeling betrayed by her sister. How could she do this? Hack her email, hide letters from Arnold, tell the help not to pass on messages . . .

"Steven!" she called out, running after him. She needed him on her side, obviously. He stopped and turned around.

"Helga," he said, grinning.

"Has Olga been hiding letters for me from me?" she asked. "When Lila was here she told me that a friend of mine had been writing to me, but I never got anything. He'd even left messages for me to call him."

"How'd you find that out?" Steven asked. "What would your sister accomplish doing that?"

"I got an email from him," she lied. "He had to send it from a new email, cause his old one kept bouncing back."

She watched as Steven just stood there staring at her blankly. Had she made a mistake in telling him? Then he frowned.

"Your sister has been acting odd, lately," he admitted. "I could look into it for you. No promises though."

"Is she sick?" Helga asked. "She's always got headaches, and your always telling her to go to the doctor. Should I be worried?"

"If she would go to the doctor we would find out," he said, shaking his head. "I don't know why she's being so stubbourn about this."

"There's something else," Helga said suddenly. "I saw you in the library with that woman at the New Years Party."

Steven looked shocked for a moment, before recovering, and nodding. "It's complicated. Mine and Olga's whole relationship is complicated. And open."

"Open?" she asked.

"We live together, but our lives are very separate," he admitted.

"But, your married," Helga pointed out. "Don't you love each other?"

"Of course, but you're too young to understand," he said.

"I'm about to turn sixteen," Helga informed him.

"And it's not really something I want to talk about with you," he said, turning and walking away from her.

"So my sister knows?" she called out.

"She knows!"

Helga stood there feeling even more confused than before. She had always thought herself so mature, so worldly. Now she was finding out that, despite what she thought, her parents had been protecting her from a _lot_ of the adult world. And it was no wonder. Helga looked up at the big, grand house, that had captured her imagination and breath, and awe. It had seem beautiful when she first saw it. Now the windows felt like eyes staring at her, following her wherever she went. There was a coldness emmanating from it. Shadows were forming in the corners. She shivered. She did need to go for a walk or something, just to get away. She felt like she was going crazy.

. . .


	7. Chapter 7

It almost felt like Helga blinked, and it was suddenly her birthday. Steven had not gotten back to Helga about the letters, or her sister. She'd thrown herself into her studies, would even go outside and study. Anything to get out of the house. Even though Steven said she could leave at anytime through the gate, she couldn't bring herself to do so. Was she becoming a hermit? Was that what was happening to her? Being so isolated from other people?

Lila hadn't been brought over again, and despite Helga requesting her maybe coming over for a birthday dinner, Olga and Steven both shot it down. They were going to go sailing.

"Sailing?" Helga asked, looking at her sister shocked. "Why sailing? Why can't I just have a friend over?"

"With summer coming up, we thought it would be a good idea to get used to going out on the water," Steven said.

Helga looked over at her sister, who was wearing what could only be described as a poker face.

"Besides, you've been saying you've been wanting to get out of the house and away from the place," Steven reminded her. Helga wanted to slap herself. Maybe she had made a mistake confiding in him. "So our summer will be spent mostly away from here."

"Away?" Helga asked, feeling panic rising. _No! No, not away! Arnold . . ._

"Yeah. We could all do with some time out, am I right Olga?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Oh, definately," she said, smiling and nodding.

"So it's settled," Steven said. "We may even make an overseas trip. Italy perhaps . . ."

Helga swallowed the lump in her throat and tried not to cry.

After dinner, her sister left to go upstairs, leaving Helga playing with her food.

"I have something for you," Steven said suddenly, looking in the direction Olga had gone. He moved into the chair next to her, and leaning close pulled out a stack of envelopes from the inside of his jacket. "I found them in her vanity drawer that she keeps her feminine products in."

Helga covered her mouth to smother her squeal of excitement. She snatched them from him, then threw her arms around him. He laughed and returned her hug, kissing her cheek, which surprised her bit, but she was too excited to finally get all those letters from Arnold!

"Thank you, thank you so much," she said in his ear, tears coming to her eyes and one running down her cheek. She pulled back as another tear ran down her cheek. She never thought she would be so happy to see snail mail in front of her. Steven cupped her face and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"Read them, then put them back in the envelopes and I'll return them to where I found them, so she won't know we know, okay?" he told her quietly. "It'll be our secret."

Helga nodded smiling, and hugged him again. Then rushed up to her room, and started to read.

. . .

Helga laid the second to last letter down, then came across one addressed to her in different writing. Flipping it over she saw it was actually from Phoebe. She frowned, then remembered Phoebe didn't have her email. Biting her lip she took the letter out from the envelope. They all been opened, so Helga guessed they'd all been read, too. Nothing intimate or too personal was in any of the letters. Mostly just worry and concern and gossip from Arnold. But she had something completely different from Phoebe.

 _Helga,_

 _I'm sorry i wasn't by your side after news of your parents passing got about. My parents and I went to the service, but only they went to the ceremony. I didn't know if you would feel like seeing me at that time, so thought I'd stay away. Arnold says you've gone to live with your sister and her husband. My, isn't he handsome!_  
 _Anyway, I'd like to patch things up between us. I have missed your friendship._  
 _Well, hopefully I will hear back from you. Please?_  
 _Phoebe._

Helga folded the letter and placed it into it's envelope, not sure what to think or how to feel. She sighed, then read the last letter that was Arnold's. More hum drum about what was happening at school. She hadn't read the letters in order, so the news was all over the place. When she finished she placed it in it's envelope, and put it on the pile. A lot had happened in the short time she'd been gone. The last letter had been dated two months ago. She wondered if she should risk going up to the attic and sending a text or making a call. She quietly got up and had a went to her door to look into the hallway. No one seemed to be moving around and there were no lights coming from under the doors. She looked at the clock on her bedside table. It was almost one in the morning. Everyone wold be in bed and asleep now, surely.

So she snuck out of her room, and made her way towards the bedroom at the end of the hall which had access to the attic through a wardrobe. Helga hadn't been able to find the main entrance yet. She kept glancing behind her, making sure she wasn't being followed, then, once at the door to the room, quietly opened it, taking one last glance down the hallway, then entering, quietly shutting the door behind her, then went to the wardrobe, and made her way up the narrow staircase, using the torch on the phone to light her way up the stairs. Once at the top she had to open another door. But turning the knob she found it was locked! She tried again, but still it wouldn't open. He must have locked it! But why? She clenched her teeth to keep herself from shouting out in frustration, then turned to make her way down the stairs again and came face to face with her sister.

"What are you doing out of bed, wandering around the house?" her sister demanded.

"I was just-"

"Is that a phone? Where did you get a phone? That better not be mine," she said, her voice threatening.

"What, no, it's not yours," Helga said, backing back up the steps.

"Where did you get it? Who are you calling?" Her sister demanded, walking up the stairs towards her. "Give it to me. Now."

Helga looked down at her outstretched hand.

"Now Helga!" she screamed at her.

It made her jump and she threw it at her sister, who proceeded to smash it on the floor, then remove the sim card.

"Who gave this to you?" she asked, looking at the broken phone on the floor. "Lila? It must have been Lila." She snapped the card in half.

"Why are you doing this?" Helga asked. Olga ignored her question.

"Just go to bed, Helga, and don't think about running to Steven about this," she told her. "He won't care."

Once her sister was gone, Helga rushed down the stairs, tears stinging her eyes. She stepped over the shattered phone, and left the room. She saw her sister walking down the hallway.

"I'll run away!" Helga screamed. Olga turned to look at her.

"Then go," she said. "If you _have_ somewhere to go."

"What is going on?" Steven asked, coming out of one of the rooms. It hit Helga like a lightening bolt. Steven and her sister weren't sharing a room!

"Helga's been sneaking around with a phone and no doubt calling boys," Olga told him like it was nothing important. "Were you planning to meet him somewhere?"

Helga shook her head, then a horrible thought struck her. The letters! She ran into her room and to her horror the letters had been torn up and thrown all over the floor. She screamed in rage and anger and went back into the hallway, just as Steven was entering her room.

"She tore them up!" she screamed in his face. "That bitch tore them up!" She continued screaming until Steven wrapped his arms around her and buried her face into his shirt. He was practically smothering her, but it made her stop and pull away and gasp for breath. "I hate her!"

She pushed Steven away and entered her bedroom and locked the door behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

It was like the confrontation between the sisters had never happened the morning after. The day of her birthday arrived, and she was handed a gift by Olga and was kissed and hugged. Helga said nothing.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Steven asked.

"No," Helga spat, throwing it on the table. "I don't want _anything_ from her!"

"Why are you acting up, Helga?" Olga asked, all innocence. Helga stared at her in disbelief, and even Steven stared at her with a ' _seriously?_ ' look on his face. "We've done so much for you-"

"Oh yeah, like locking me up!" she said.

"Oh, I just absolutely can not deal with this today," Olga announced, placing a hand to her forehead. Helga rolled her eyes. "Take her out Steven. Maybe she'll have a better attitude when she comes back."

"Fat chance," Helga muttered under her breath.

. . .

The whole drive to the marina, Helga remained silent, ignoring Steven. She didn't want to go sailing. She didn't want to go home. She just wanted to run away! She was supposed to be strong, independent. So what happened? Tears sprung to her eyes and she blinked, hoping to make them go away. But one escaped. Helga had never been one to cry. But since living with Olga and Steven, she'd cried more in that small time period than in her whole life!

"Let's just try to enjoy the day," Steven said, looking over at her and smiling. "We have a wonderful lunch and dinner packed, and I even snuck in some champaign."

"Ugh, I'm not teenage loser who thinks drinking is fun because it's forbidden," Helga said. Steven just laughed. If he was hoping to get a laugh out of her, he was shit out of luck. She was determined to make this hard. And he knew it, too.

"Helga, your making this hard on me isn't ruining my day. It's ruining yours," he told her.

"Olga ruined my day when she smashed that phone," Helga muttered. "That drunk driver ruined my _life._ "

"Well, what's done is done, and you can't change it," he said. "So cheer up, we're going to have a nice day, whether you like it or not."

. . .

It was a nice day. Steven had a yacht that had accomodation in it. ' _You could live in this freaking thing!_ ' Helga thought, looking around. After being shown everywhere, including the bedroom (on a yacht!) they headed upstairs to enjoy the sun. Helga laid down on the deck, while Steven steered. After a while they seemed to just be drifting.

"You should put sunscreen on," Steven warned, coming down to her.

"Whose driving the boat?" Helga asked.

"We've stopped for lunch," he informed her. "We've been out here for two hours already, and your turning red."

Helga looked down at her arms. He was right. "Dammit." She got up and went over to her bag, pulling out her sunscreen. "I put some on before I left!"

Steven wandered over. "Do you need some help?"

Helga just handed him the bottle and nodded, removing her shirt and lifting her hair away from her shoulders. She should have tied it up. Why hadn't she tied it up? She winced as the cold lotion hit her skin and shuddered as it went across from one shoulder to the other. Then he made a line of it down the middle of her back, before beginning to rub it in. It felt strange having him lift the straps of her bikini top to get the lotion undeerneath. She'd never bothered and just slathered it over the top in the past.

"You know, when I first met your sister, she loved doing things like this, or at least I thought she did," he said.

"She's a people pleaser," Helga sneered. "Unless the person is me."

"She's just . . . worried," Steven excused. "They found the body of a young woman dumped in the woods not far from the house. It was on our land . . ."

"Are you serious?" Helga asked, spinning around to look at him. Steven nodded. "But I never saw any police cars and all that."

"Well, it happened," he told her. "It made the paper. They think it was the work of the same person responsible for another death and dumping a few months ago on the other side of the city. There's to many strange people out there who shouldn't be out amongst the public. We handed over our CCTV footage, so hopefully they'll find the person."

"If I was wandering the streets, I would understand," Helga muttered. "But I won't be. I'm just making phone calls."

"I'll talk to her," he said quietly. It was only then that Helga realized he had his hands on her stomach and she could feel his chest against her back, and his breath on her neck. She tried not to quiver, and pulled away from him, standing up.

"Is it safe to swim here?" she asked, wanting to cool off.

"As safe as anywhere else," Steven said, then holding out the bottle, "But first, you think you could return the favor?"

The dormant butterflies in her stomach went crazy, and the heat she felt wasn't all sun. "Uh, yeah, sure." Taking the bottle off him, she squirted it on his back and started rubbing it in. There was no hair there. Her dad had been hairy. She'd had the misfortune too many times, of seeing him raging around the house looking for his belt, or underwear or shirt. She thought it was so gross. But now, seeing a hairless man in front of her, she thought it was strange. Shouldn't men be hairy? 'Why are you even asking yourself this?' her mind asked. She made a closed mouth giggle noise.

"What's so funny?" Steven asked, as she finished and pulled her hands back.

"You've got no hair," she told him. "Well, I'm gonna risk a swim with sharks!" Before Steven could say anything she went to the edge of the boat and jumped in. When she surfaced she swore she could feel a difference in the water where they were, to at a beach. It felt . . . lighter? Colder for sure . . . she paddled around for a bit, dipped her head under, then made her way back. In the meantime Steven had got lunch ready for them. One back on board Helga squeezed what water she could from her hair. She noticed Steven staring at her with an odd look on his face. It made her heart beat fast, and she looked away from him and down at the food. Not saying anything she made her way over to the small table and started making herself a plate.

They ate in silence for a while, and Steven offered her a glass of wine. "Don't tell your sister," he joked. Helga smiled and accepted it.

Afterwards they both dove into the water for a swim, but Helga couldn't help being paranoid about sharks and the boat floating away, leaving them behind. Steven teased her about it, and they had a splash war for a bit, before going back to the boat. Helga had another wine, and soaked up the sun.

"If your tired you can go lie down," Steven told her. Helga nodded, feeling tired. The mix of sea, alcohol and sun making her drowsy. Pulling herself up, she gulped back the last of her wine and went down to the bedroom and flopped face down on the bed and fell asleep.

She had a strange dream while sleeping though. One of hands all over her, and kisses. When she woke what only felt like a while later, the sun was gone and the boat was quiet. She sat up feeling groggy, looking around. She felt strange down there, her bikini top was slightly askew. Remembering her dream she felt embarrassed. Then she heard what sounded like her sister laughing. She realized her bag with her clothes in it was still up on the deck so she stumbled her way up the stairs and out to see her sister and Steven sitting at the table, subs and pizza in front of them and a birthday cake in the middle.

"Happy Birthday, Sleepy Head!" Olga sang, giving her a big smile. Steven was smiling and holding a wrapped box for her. She scowled at her sister, but made her way forward and took a seat. "I hope you've had a wonderful day, frolicking in the sea. Nothing like the ocean to refresh you mind, body and soul."

Helga just rolled her eyes, grabbed a piece of pizza and started eating. Ordinarily she would just scoff it, but she couldn't remember the last time she had had pizza. Her parents had been alive, she knew that. After a moment she looked at the pizza. She knew it tasted to fresh. It was homemade. Looking at the subs she figured they probably were, too. Nearly every meal she had eaten since arriving had been home made. Except when they went out to eat. And even then, it wasn't to some chain eatery. It was always somewhere posh. Helga sighed.

"I'm not very hungry," she said, looking down at her lap. She felt like crying. It was her first birthday without her parents. Steven and Olga shared a worried glance.

"Are you okay, Helga?" Olga asked. Helga glared at her sister, causing Olga to sit back.

"No," she snapped. "Mom and Dad aren't here, my friends aren't here, and I can't even talk to anyone, and you've been hiding letters from me!"

She pushed herself away from the table and scrambled off the boat and took off running, ignoring Steven and Olga's calling her name. Freedom! At last! she thought, picking up her pace. She felt like a caged animal that had finally escaped. She ran as fast as she could and saw the beach that still had a few people on it, and headed that way. Once she hit the beach she just kept on running, before finally collapsing from exhaustion near a wharf and just started to cry. She had to get away, but where did she go? She lived in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't safe to walk alone. She had no money. Well, not yet anyway . . .

"Helga?" she heard Steven ask. He knelt down on the sand next to her and touched her shoulder. "Come on. We'll go home. The weather is turning bad."

That was when she felt the first raindrop hit her face. She let him pull her to her feet and guide her back towards the marina.

"I hate her, i really, really hate her," Helga muttered.

"No you don't," Steven told her. "Your just angry right now. We'll go home, you'll have a bath, something to eat, sleep, and it will be better in the morning."

. . .

The drive home was made in absolute silence. When they finally arrived the rain had really started to get heavy.

"It started out as such a nice day, too," Steven remarked, hoping to get a response from one of them. But it was greeted with silence, until Helga broke it by opening and slamming the car door and rushing up the steps and into the house as Colin opened the door. Olga followed and by the time Steven entered the house, Olga was gone and Helga was still stomping up the steps.

When Helga reached her room she opened her closet and pulled out a bigger bag. She was going to need it. Going to the drawers she pulled out her jewellry, underwear, some tops, jeans, socks, and threw them into the bag. When she heard someone coming into the lounge room off her bedroom she shoved the bag under the bed and sat down, wiping away her tears. It was Steven. Of course. It always was. God forbid her sister should do anything to help her!

"You forgot to get your present," Steven told her, holding out the box. Helga didn't make a move to grab it so Steven took the initiative by unwrapping and opening the box for her. It was a gold necklace with her name spelled out in gold letters. He came over and put it around her neck, lifting her hair as he did.

"I'm sorry this day ended so badly," he said, genuinely looking sorry for her. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, close to her lips. She pulled back, feeling like she couldn't breathe. "Hopefully tomorrow is a better day."

Helga watch him get up and leave, without saying a word. She waited a few minutes before dragging her bag out from under the bed and continuing to fill it with stuff she thought she would need. When she was sure she had everything she looked out the hallway. She could hear them arguing, but couldn't hear what they were saying. Sneaking quietly out she saw she wasn't going to be able to just sneak out the front door. Colin was downstairs, and there were many other people in the house as well. She wasn't sure what was going on, but it was too busy. Going back to her room she closed the door. She'd wait a while then try again. Falling back on her bed she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When she woke up she saw that she'd been asleep for three hours. Everyone should be asleep by now, right? Getting up she went to leave but found her bedroom door was locked. She stared at it in disbelief and tried again. Definately locked. She backed away from the door. She knew no one would hear her if she called out. She spun around and saw a note on her drawers. She walked over and read it.

 _What were you planning to do, Helga? Run away?_

Helga growled and crumpled the note up and dropped it on the floor, looking at her window. She was leaving tonight for sure. If she had to climb down the side of the house, she was getting out of here. Going over to it she opened it and looked out. There was a narrow ledge she could balance along. She leaned out looking left and right. She could do this. All she had to do was get to the veranda roof, then she could jump down, make her way to that tree, jump over and just run for it. She turned around and grabbed her bag, putting on her back then climbed out her window. Holding onto the guttering on the roof above her window she got up and started to pull herself along, watching her footing on the slippery ledge. There was no way she was going to be locked away for the rest of her life. What was her sister up to? If it was Helga's inheritance, she could have it! She was almost at the veranda roof when the guttering she was holding onto came apart from the roof. Helga could only look at it in her hand in shock as she fell backwards, letting out a short scream before she hit the ground and everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

When she awoke she was in a hospital bed. She didn't feel any pain, and couldn't move anything. She tried remembering what happened and how she would have ended up here. Looking to her left she saw Steven sitting in a chair looking at her, worried.

"How are you?" he asked. "You took a pretty big fall."

"What's wrong with me? I can't feel anything!" she rasped out. Her mouth and throat were dry. She looked down to see a needle and tube going into her hand. She followed it up to see it attatched to a bag with clear liquid in it.

"Sedatives," he told her. "You lost your shit with them when you woke up the other day and ripped out your IV."

Helga looked at him confused. "What am I doing here?"

Steven was silent for a while, before he finally started to tell her.

"It looks like you were trying to run away," he told her. "You fell. You were still holding onto the piece of guttering when Colin found you. Your bloody lucky one of the workers just happened to see you fall, otherwise no one would have known until the next morning and you could have been dead by then." He had started to sound angry at her. She looked down, remembering all of a sudden.

"Someone locked my door," she said. Steven stared at her like she was mad.

"You know you could have died," he said. "You have a fractured skull, you broke your wrist and dislocated your shoulder. . ."

"I just wanted to get away from Olga, Steven," she whined. She couldn't believe she was whining. Her. Helga G. Pataki . . . whining.

"Yeah, well, now your stuck in a hospital room, then after that the house," he told her. "You've really screwed up."

"I screwed up?" she demanded. "She locked me in my room!"

Steven just shook his head and left. Helga felt herself starting to cry. About an hour later a woman came walking into the room carrying a clipboard.

"Hi Helga," she said, giving her a plastic smile and taking a seat in the chair next to her bed. "I'm Barbara. I'm one of the youth social workers here at the hospital."

"Emancipation," Helga stated. The woman blinked.

"I'm sorry?"

"I want emancipation," Helga told her. "Now."

"You can't just demand emancipation, Helga," the woman told her. "There needs to be grounds for it."

"My sister keeps me trapped!" Helga yelled. "I'm not allowed to contact any friends, and she broke my cell phone. She was keeping letters from me. She tore them up!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, please," Barbara said. "I want to write this down, so your going to need to start from the beginning."

Helga took a deep breath. "I'm being home-schooled. I'm only allowed access to the internet under supervision and for school work. I'm not allowed to use email or social media."

"Uh huh," she said, writing it down.

"And I can't have any friends over. Except that one time Lila came, and left a cell phone with me so I could contact Arnold."

"A boy?" Barbara asked.

"Of course a boy," Helga told. "It's not a girls name! Anyway, my sister found out I had it and broke it,and she also tore up all the letters Arnold had written to me after having kept them hidden in her room. She read them!"

Barbara stared at her a moment. "So what your telling me, is that you want emancipation, because your sister and her husband don't give you unlimited access to the internet unsupervised, and have let you have one friend to stay in the whole time, keep you home schooled so as to avoid a very long bus ride to and fro, and kept letters from a boy away from you. Oh, and won't let you have a cell phone to contact said boy?"

Helga stared at the woman a while before she started replaying what she had said to her, but thinking outside her own head. She sounded like a bratty, whiney teenager!

"Helga, were planning to run away and meet this boy?" Barbara asked.

"What?" Helga asked.

"I've read over your notes," she said, looking down at her clip board. "And your sister has filled me in on this obsession you had with the boy as a child. It doesn't look very healthy to me."

"Okay, so I had a crush on the guy when I was a child," she snapped. "Big deal."

"Helga, you risked your life to go to him."

"I never said I was going to go to him," Helga said, shaking her head.

"Then what were you planning to do?" Barbara asked, sitting back. Helga shrugged. "See, I get the feeling, as did your sister, that you were planning to run away, show up on his doorstep and try to stay there. She locked the door to your bedroom to keep you from doing that. Helga, girls your age go missing, and do you know where some end up? Dead. In ditches. Or they're trafficked as prostitutes. I once met a girl who was raped by 40 men a day. For three months. She was taken all over the country. It's not nice."

Helga looked down at her hands, trying not to cry again.

"A teenager is a very big responsibility," Barbara told her. "They should be having their own kids, and raising them, but instead they're raising you. And you pay them back by trying to run away and trying to get them into trouble. Helga, supervising and limiting your internet is not grounds for emancipation."

"But the letters-"

"Your sister is worried you'd get into trouble with the boy, and probably just did what she did out of instinct."

"She tore them up," Helga said through clenched teeth.

"Did you see her do that?" she asked her.

"Well, no, but-"

Barbara held up her hand. "There is nothing you have told me that rings any alarm bells. Who was going to pay the cell phone bill?"

"What do you mean?" Helga asked. "It wasn't on a plan."

"But once credit ran out? Who was going to put money on it?"

Helga was silent. She didn't know . . .

"Helga, your sister and Steven are doing the best they can," she told her. "I have to get going, but I've taken a note of everything you've told me."

"So your not going to do anything?" Helga asked.

"Helga, there's nothing to do anything about," Barbara told her, before leaving and closing the door behind her.

Helga just started to cry.

. . .

Three days later her sister and Steven were both there to pick her up and take her home. Helga was wheeled out in a wheelchair, feeling stupid. She could walk, a little bit, though she was still getting bad dizzy spells.

"Just rest," a doctor told her. "And don't go hitting your head. And watch that wrist."

Helga just nodded silently, before being wheeled away out to the waiting limo. Some of the patients were at the window gaping at it, and Helga suddenly felt embarrassed. Steven helped her in as Colin opened the door for Olga. Once the doors were closed, and everyone was settled, olga started to speak.

"Well, I hope your happy with yourself," she sniffed. "That took a nice chunk out of your inheritance."

"What?" Helga asked, shocked.

"Your stupidity, your money," Olga told her. "I wasn't going to pay for your folly."

"Not now, Olga," Steven said, leaning back and rubbing his temples.

"If not now, when? huh?" Olga demanded. "Stop trying to protect her!"

Steven shook his head a looked out the window. The rest of the drive was silent, and Helga fell asleep at one point. She woke up when she heard a door slam. Olga had exited the car and gone inside, leaving Steven to help her out and up to her room. Colin came up behind them.

"Are you okay?" Steven asked.

"I feel dizzy and tired," Helga confessed, leaning on him. Steven nodded.

"I'll help you up to your room," he said, and true to his word did. Once in there he helped her get into her bed, then sat on the side. "I know you want to see your friend, and when your feeling better I will try to sneak you into the city to see him. But for the love of God Helga, please, just make things easier on everyone and just go along with your sister."

She just nodded. He leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Call me if you need me," he told her, then handed her some pills and a glass of water. "For your head."

Helga took them from him and downed them. Then she watched him leave, and before long was asleep herself . . .


	10. Chapter 10

One more week, and she could finally get this stupid cast off. She was still getting dizzy spells five weeks after her fall. And wicked headaches that sometimes came with nausea. Her sister had been as useless as tits on a bull. Helga giggled at that thought. She'd heard one of the workers shout it at another while they were working around the garden a couple of weeks back and had thought it very appropriate to apply to her sister.

She had heard Steven and her fight about it once. Olga had turned around and hired a nurse to look after her in the first few weeks, because it was "just too stressful" for Olga to deal with, and neither Helga nor Steven were comfortable being in the bathroom at the same time while she bathed or showered. The nurse had been there to assist and make sure if Helga had a dizzy spell, she had support.

On the upside she had gotten back into her art. She hadn't been writing for a while, or anything artistic really. So it was soothing to fall back into it, or read a book. She always had someone following behind her, so she didn't walk around too much. One day Steven finally took her through the maze and showed her the trick to getting out. She forgot what it was as soon as they had left the maze, and Steven laughed about it. Sitting one her bed and staring out the window it wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped, that she realized she wasn't alone in her room. She looked up to see Steven looking down at her.

"You alright?" he asked. She nodded. He sat down on her bed. "Do you know what I found out today?"

"What?"

"Your sister is going away for a girls weekend the weekend you get your cast off," he told her, leaning back. Helga had found herself once again thinking about just how attractive Steven was. And it didn't help that she still had the memory of that dream in her head. She'd had it again a few times, though that last time she was woken up halfway through. The feelings were still there though. She'd bury her face into her pillow, and try to push those images away. "So I thought, after your cast is off, we can take a drive through your old neighborhood."

"Are you serious!" she yelled, jumping up. Her head spun, and she had to sit down again.

"Yeah, don't hurt yourself, okay?" Steven said, laughing. "But yeah, sure. We can drive around, maybe you'll see one of your friends. We could have ice-cream somewhere..."

But Helga had stopped listening. She felt . . . strange. She should be more excited about this. About possibly seeing Arnold. But . . . what were the chances, really?

"Helga," Steven repeated. She looked up at him. "There you are. So what do you think?"

"I think that's fantastic!"

. . .

Finally, she was getting the stupid cast off. Finally, she was getting away from this house and going back to her old stomping ground! She was so excited that she actually agonized over what to wear and how to wear her hair. In the end she settled for a long loose braid, pink t shirt and denim shorts with black sandals. Rushing out she almost tripped down the stairs, but luckily caught herself.

"Jesus, Helga!" Steven yelled out. "One cast at a time." Helga glared down at him and his poor attempt at a joke.

"Is Olga gone already?" she asked, when she finally got to the bottom.

"Yeah, left before the sun came up," he said, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Come on."

Helga followed him out to his car and got in. She looked to see Colin watching from the doorway and waving. She waved back and he smiled. She had gotten to know him and Cally quite well. Steven pulled away and they started the long trip back to the hospital. Afterwards they would go on to Hillwood. Olga had stayed out of her way, which had made life pretty bearable. Helga had snuck into her room the day before and looked through her drawers, to see if she was hiding letters for her. She wasn't. She had also hung around the gate one day and accosted the postman. Nothing, and he hadn't delivered anything for a little while. She had felt put out and sad. Had Arnold forgotten about her? Had he fallen in love with someone else? Then a horrible idea came to her. Had Lila and he reignited a flame? Started dating?

She shook her head. No. She couldn't think like that. She just couldn't!

. . .

It had been months since Arnold had heard from Helga. He wasn't sure why. He'd gone down to the beach nearly everyday that summer. And that was where he met Sylvia. Well first, Gerald met Nevaeh. And Sylvia was Nevaeh's best friend. So they started to hang out together due to Nevaeh's love of "double-dates". So he and Sylvia were kind of dating, but not really. More like, dating because their friends were dating, not because they were in love, but they were fond of each other. At least, that was how Arnold saw it. He hadn't asked Sylvia.

He'd had some contact with Lila, who told him that she hadn't heard from either Helga or Olga.

"Maybe she has run out of credit on her phone?" Lila had suggested. "It's not like she can just go up the road or call them."

"Why not?" Arnold had demanded. Lila shook her head and told him he clearly hadn't listened to what she had told him. In the end Arnold had lost his cool with her, and Lila had walked away. They hadn't spoken since. And now Gerald was keeping him busy and in Sylvia's presence, hoping his thinking about Helga would go away. And for the most part it would. But then he would see something, or hear someone and look, thinking it may be her.

It never was.

He'd stopped writing since he knew they weren't getting through to her. He had stopped calling the landline because he was always blocked off. And now it had been a couple of months since he had even heard from Helga. It was like she had made no attempt at all to get in touch. He'd never seen her at the beach or anywhere for that matter.

"Arnold," Gerald called. "What is so important that you just let your ice-cream melt?"

"Huh?" Arnold asked, looking at Gerald, then his ice-cream. It had melted. "Oh, um, just stuff."

Gerald saw the guilty look he threw Sylvia's way.

"Let's go get a drink," Gerald said, grabbing him and hauling him up out of his seat. When they were far enough away he stopped. "It better not be Helga, man."

"Gerald-"

"I can't believe this!" Gerald cried, throwing his hands in the air. "You have a pretty girl right there. And your ignoring her for someone who hasn't even tried to contact you. Unbelievable."

"I know," Arnold admitted, looking down.

"If she were really in danger, she would have found a way to get word out somehow," Gerald pointed out. "She was probably just adjusting or something."

"You think so?" Arnold asked, looking at the ceiling.

"I'm ninety percent sure," he told him.

"And the other ten percent?" Arnold asked.

"Doesn't care."

. . .

"I'm so glad to be rid of that stupid thing," Helga said, looking down at her white and somewhat wrinkled wrist and hand. She was giving it a good scratch and dead skin was coming off under her nails. Gross.

"I'll bet," Steven said, watching the road. The idiot in front of them would slam their breaks on suddenly. Steven mused that maybe they were hoping someone would ride up their cars ass. "So, where we going again?"

"Slaucen's," Helga told him, proceeding to show him how to get there. She smiled, looking out the window, feeling smug. She had been up all last night writing a letter to Arnold, explaining what had happened. She'd put it in an envelope - stolen from Steven's office- and put a stamp on it - also stolen from Steven's office - and had left it behind in the hospital waiting room, in the hopes that someone would find it and post it for her. She had made sure that Steven hadn't seen. She was hoping it was a stroke of genius. She had to do something!

When they finally saw Slaucen's coming into sight, Steven pulled into a parking spot. She excitedly got out, and started to make her way there then stopped dead in her tracks. No. Way. There he was, walking out of Slaucens . . . with a girl? It felt like she had been punched. She couldn't breath. Her flight reponse kicked in, and she turned on her heel only to trip!

"Helga!" Steven called out as she landed hard, stopping herself from falling flat with her hands. It was the worst thing she could have done. Her eyes went wide as pain shot up her arm. She gasped in pain and looked down. She bit her lip, trying not to scream as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Helga?" she heard Arnold ask behind her.

"Oh, jeez, Helga, your wrist," Steven said, kneeling beside her.

Helga started to cry, not being able to help herself. Not again. Not again!

"Is she okay?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah, she's probably just broken her wrist again," he told him, before lifting Helga in his arms. Helga looked back at him just as the girl was slipping her hand into Arnold's and moving close. She looked away and down at her hand. Her heart was hurting more than her wrist at this point. "Come on, back to the hospital with you."

"Can I help?" Arnold asked.

"No, I've got it," Steven said, carrying Helga to his car and putting her in. She took one last look Arnold's way. He and his girlfriend were talking, and he took a look at her before turning and walking away.

Steven got in, and his door slamming broke her out of her trance. She was starting to feel nauseous.

. . .

"It's not broken, so your very lucky," the doctor told her. "Don't fall on it again though."

"She won't," Steven said firmly. "I'll take her straight home and that'll be it." The doctor just nodded and left.

"This is all Olga's fault," Helga mumbled.

"Olga wasn't even here," Seven said to her.

"Arnold's moved on, and it's all because she was keeping me from contacting him," she said, glaring at the wall. "I hate her."

 _And I'm going to make her pay!_


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey Football Head,_  
 _Sorry I haven't been in contact. Olga caught me using the phone, completely lost her rag and actually smashed it. Then she locked me in my room. I tried to make a break for it but fell from the roof. Fractured my skull - not life threatening - and broke my wrist, so I've been at home doped up on pain medication and a cast._  
 _Anyway, since I can't contact you that way I'm going to write this letter, take it with me when I go to get my cast off and leave it behind at the hospital. Hopefully someone will put it in the post for me!_  
 _In any case, if you get this, on the photo is a picture of a tree on the property and I've drawn a map. It's on my side. Don't touch the fence. When I go for a walk around the property I'll stop by there. Put something there, anything, so I know that you got my letter. Maybe it could be our secret spot or something._  
 _Love, Helga_

 _. . ._

Three weeks later Helga finally got herself out of bed and snuck out of the house and decided to go to the tree anyway. So maybe Arnold had moved on. But she couldn't help that little part of her that hoped that he would answer her letter. Some way. Looking behind her, she made her way towards where the tree was. Looking around when she got the to be sure she wasn't being followed, she casually looked around. At first she didn't see anything. She was about to turn around and go back but saw a flash of pink in the undergrowth. Walking over to pick it up she saw it was an envelope in a plastic zip lock bag, addressed to her. Fingers trembling she took it out and opened it.

 _Hey Helga,_  
 _What you saw that day wasn't what you would have thought. Yes, I know what you would have thought. That she was my girlfriend and we were in love blah blah blah, but that's not the truth. I'm still determined to get a scholarship. She is Gerald's new girlfriends friend. I thought we were just friends, but it turns out she thought we would become more. It was an awkward conversation that has ended out friendship and made things strained between Gerald and I._  
 _I can't believe you had to resort to smuggling a letter out of the house and leaving it somewhere public in the hope that someone would post it to me. Your lucky they did and didn't just throw it out!_  
 _Anyway, I hope your recovering well and didn't break your wrist again. I'm getting driving lessons now. Maybe we can arrange a date and time and I can come by and we can sneak off? I can't believe I just suggested that. But it would be really nice to see you and catch up properly. When your better. I will be back in a weeks time (Sunday). Hopefully you've found this and will leave a response on this side of the fence. Use the rock._  
 _Arnold._

Excitement bubbled up inside her. She'd gotten the wrong end of the stick! She looked back at the house, and seeing no one took a pen from her pocket, and ripped a page from her diary.

 _I'll be here!_

She then tied it to the rock and threw it over the fence, listening to it land with a thud. Then she did a little dance a squeal. Finally! She'd see Arnold!

. . .

"Where you off to Shortman?" Phil asked his grandson.

"To the beach," Arnold lied. "Just want to get one more trip in before it starts getting cold. Can I use the car?"

"No way!" his grandfather yelled. "Do you know how much trouble you would get into? I'm driving you there."

"No, it's fine-"

"Look, I know your lying," Phil said. "So just get in the car, grab your bike, I'll grab my fishing gear and I won't ask anymore questions."

Arnold grabbed his bike and put it on the rack on the back of the car. Then got in.

"When you have your license you can use the car," Phil said. "But don't dent it."

They were both quiet the whole drive to the beach. Once they were there they agreed on a time to meet back at the car.

"If your an hour late I'm calling the police," Phil told him.

"Okay Grandpa," Arnold said, smiling. Then he turned back toward the road and started the hike back to where Helga's directions told him to go.

. . .

"You look nice today, Helga," Steven said smiling. Helga tried to ignore the butterflies that fluttered around inside her. She needed to spend time away from this man.

"I'm in a good mood," she told him. "So I'm taking some food, I'm going to find a nice shady spot and I'm going to write and draw."

She lifted her canvas and bag which held her art supplies. "Find some inspiration."

"Sorry I can't join you," he said. "But I had to go to the office today. Maybe we'll have dinner together if I'm home on time."

Helga tried her best to smile and not smirk. "That will be nice."

She took off outside before he could ask anymore questions and paused to put on a show as if deciding what way to go. She deliberately chose to go in the opposite direction that she knew she would go in. She hid and watched as he got into his car and drove away. Looking around and seeing no one she headed off in the direction she needed to go in. When she got there she saw he wasn't there yet. She looked at her watch. She was ten minutes early, to be fair, but she still couldn't help but worry that maybe, just maybe, he'd gotten lost. Or worse, something bad had happened to him. She was so busy fretting that she didn't notice him come up to the fence.

"Helga," Arnold said. Helga turned and saw him there, his jellybean green eyes smiling and his blonde hair all over the place. His face was slightly flushed and she saw he had his bike with him. Had he ridden all the way from Hillwood!? Without askin questions she threw her bag over the fence, then the canvas, and climbed the tree. "Don't fall!"

"Shhhh!" she said. "The trees have eyes!"

"What do you mean, the trees have eyes?" Arnold asked, looking around him.

"Call me paranoid," she said, jumping down and landing with a thud. "But I'm pretty sure there's cameras in some of the trees."

"Are you serious?" Arnold asked, again looking around. "Cameras in trees and electric fences. What the hell?"

"Hell's right," Helga muttered. They stood there awkward for a moment, not quite sure how to greet one another.

"So, do you want to go to the beach, or stay close?" he asked.

"Beach," she said, lifting her shirt to reveal her swimsuit. "Or we could both sneak back over and swim in the outdoor pool."

"I think we're better to risk the beach," Arnold told her, looking towards the house. "We'll walk back to the road, and you can sit on my handlebars."

Helga laughed, liking the idea, and walked off, leaving her gear on the ground where she had dropped it. Quietly they made their way to the road.

"Did you ride all the way from Hhillwood?" Helga asked. Arnold shook his head.

"From the beach," he told her. "Grandpa dropped me off. He's doing some fishing."

Helga didn't ask anymore questions. She was just happy to be in his presence. When they got to the road, she did climb on the handlebars, and they made the ride to the beach.

. . .

They swam, caught up, laughed, ate corn dogs! Oh, they were so good! It had been so long since Helga had had any. They drank soda, again something Helga wasn't able to do since moving in with her sister and Steven. Helga could feel her skin burning, but didn't care. She was free, truely free, and she was with Arnold!

"Lila sat with us all one day and described the hosue you were living in," Arnold told her. "Rhonda was so jealous. Two pools, a spa, a maze! She told us everything."

"I haven't seen her since that weekend," Helga informed him. "Is she okay?"

"I haven't actually spoken to her in a while," he admitted. "I lost my cool with her one day and yelled at her. We haven't spoken since."

They moved onto talking about other things. Arnold's watch beeping alerted them to the time.

"We better get going," he said with obvious disappointment. "I can't believe we've already been gone this long."

Helga was sad to be leaving as well. She could only think that it was worse because she felt like she was returning to a cage. On their way back she saw a familliar car coming towards them and her heart stopped. When it pulled over and slowed to a stop, she told Arnold to stop, too.

Yep. It was Steven. And Olga.

"Helga, what are you doing out here!" he demanded, getting out of his car. "We've been worried sick about you! And why are you riding on his handlebars? What if you fell and broke your wrist again? Or worse!"

"Get off at once!" her sister yelled at her, striding over to her and pulling her off the bike. "Get in the car! How dare you leave and not tell anyone where you are going?"

"You can't keep her a prisoner forever!" Arnold yelled. Helga, Olga and Steven looked at him.

"Until she's eighteen, and while she lives under our roof, I damn well can," Olga hissed at him, standing over him in a threatening way. "Stay. Away. From my _sister_."

"You won't get away with this!" he yelled, as Olga pushed her sister into the car. Olga spun on him.

"With what?" Olga asked, suddenly smiling and innocent. "Taking care of my sister and looking out for her welfare?"

Arnold dropped his bike and went to start towards the car when he heard a horn honk. Looking he saw it was his grandpa, who pulled over as well.

"What's going on here, Shortman?" he asked out the window.

"They're kidnapping her!" he shouted.

"I don't have time for this rubbish!" Olga snapped, getting into the car. They pulled away. Steven was sitting in the back with Helga and talking to her sternly. Helga was looking down first, but then looked at him sadly.

How had such a wonderful day, ended so badly?

. . .

"So what do the police say, Shortman?" Phil asked his grandson. He hated seeing his grandson so down.

"There's nothing they can do, because Olga is her legal guardian, but they will send a couple of police over to check on things," he told them, kicking the wall. "I don't get how all these authorities are so . . . so . . . they just don't seem to be taking this seriously!"

"I know, Arnold," he said, hugging him one armed around the shoulder. "But it's only, what? One more year? Then she'll be free. And they're going to pay a visit. If anything is amiss, they'll pick up on it."

Phil didn't want to admit his doubts about that to Arnold though. Last thing the poor kid needed right now.

. . .

"How long have you been doing this, Helga?" Olga demanded, getting right into her face.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sneaking around with that boy!" she screamed.

"Olga-"

"No!" she shouted at Seven, turning on him. "No, Don't interfeer! Stop making excuses for her and defending her behaivour!"

"Hers? What about yours!" he yelled back at her. But Olga ignored him, turning on Helga again.

"Did you have sex with him, huh?" she demanded.

"Olga-"

"Shut up, Steven. Well? Is that why you snuck out? So you could slut around with him? Well?"

Helga sunk down in her chair and looked at Steven, pleading silently for help.

"Oh, don't look to him for help," Olga warned her. "Don't you dare."

"So what if I did?" Helga asked, throwing her head up high in false bravado. Her sisters face . . . she had never seen such a scary look, not even on her father.

"Stay in your room," she said quietly and calmly. "And don't think of trying to escape, either."

Olga glared at Steven and left the room, slamming the door behind her, leaving Helga and Steven behind.

"You should have told me, Helga," Steven said. "I could have covered for you had I just known."

Helga looked down at the floor before going into her room and throwing herself on her bed and crying. She heard Steven leave, closing the door behind him softly. When she looked up at her window, she saw something strange. Bars. They had put bars on her windows.

No she truly was in a cage.


	12. Chapter 12

If the police followed up Arnold's concerns, he never heard about it. When he finally went in to ask about it, he got waved off. Nothing was amiss, as far as they were concerned. It frustrated Arnold to no end. Gerald just completely gave up on him, telling him straight up that this obsession was cute in the beginning, but now it was beyond insane. His grandparents offered him the support they could, but also kept reminding him about his studies. If he wanted to get where he wanted to get, he had to focus on that as well. And then his grandpa refused to take him anywhere near the place. And even once he got his license, he wasn't allowed to use the car alone.

Sometimes it felt like he was the only on who even cared . . .

. . .

Helga was kept a virtual prisoner for two weeks. She had food brought up to her. The only time she left her rooms was to see her tutor. She had her tutor smuggling letters out to Arnold and in from him. She agreed that Helga needed to interact with other people her own age.

"It's unhealthy to keep you confined to this place," she'd said. "I'm going to try and talk them into sending you to the High School. You need to be in a school setting."

Helga's hopes were raised. Until the unimaginable happened.

One morning Steven came to tell her that her tutor wouldn't be coming anymore.

"She passed away the other night," he told her. "It's why she didn't come in yesterday."

All the hopes Helga had collapsed around her.

"But . . . she said she was going to talk to you guys about my going to school," Helga said. "Did she?"

"She did. But your sister handles that side of things, not me," he told her. "And your sister isn't reasonable at the moment."

After he left Helga cried until she fell asleep. When she woke, it was from fright. Her room was dark. She felt like she was being watched. She at up and looked around. Was that her sisters perfume? Had Olga been in here? Helga got up off the bed and walked into the little lounge area and tried the door. It was locked, but she could hear voices on the other side. Olga and Steven were fighting again. She went to move away but heard her name used. Frowning she leaned against the door and strained to listen. But all she heard was muffled yells and slamming doors, then silence. She walked over to her couch and sat down, turning on the TV. She flipped to the music channel and turned up the volume. She didn't hear the lock on her door click or hear it open, so she jumped when she saw Steven standing there, staring at her as she sulked.

"I have a movie." he said, holding it up like some prize in one hand, and a bag of stuff in the other. "It's a horror. Your sister is going out tonight. I also brought snacks."

Helga didn't say anything to him, just went back to watching the screen, so he came in and sat next to her. She wrinkled his nose.

"Have you been drinking?" she asked.

"Oh, not you too," he moaned, leaning back. "I had a couple of bourbons. That's all."

"What were you and Olga screaming about?" she asked as casually as she could. "Me?"

"Not this time," he said, leaning forward and setting the dvd up. "Kids."

"Kids?" Helga asked.

"Olga's dream is to have kids," he told her. "But she can't."

"Why not?" Helga asked, curious. Steven gave her a funny look.

"Because she had to have her ovaries removed as a teenager," he told her. "You didn't know about that?"

Helga shook her head. Steven made a face, grabbed the remote and sat down next to her, starting the movie.

"We've been looking at ways around it," he told her. "It's her dream. But it looks like it's not going to happen."

"You don't sound too disappointed," she stated.

"I'd be lying if I said I was sold on the idea of children with her," he said, laughing. "I'm not sure she would be up to making the sacrifices that come with parenting."

"I've never been keen on kids," she admitted. "I'm too greedy. I'd want my boyfriend or partner or husband all to myself. At least for a while. I'm not a fan of sharing."

Steven laughed and settled down. Silently they watched the movie together. When a "scary" moment flashed up, she jumped and moved closer, grabbing onto him. She didn't let go. He didn't push her off, Just draped an arm around her. She fit herself against him. She could feel his heart thumping in his chest, just as hers was.

"You know, you should be getting driving lessons," Steven said. "You are going to leave here eventually. You need to know how to drive."

"Don't you want me here?" she asked. He looked down at her.

"What? Helga, we put bars on your windows," he said laughing. "If that doesn't say we want you here, then what does?"

"Bars on the window aren't funny," Helga pointed out.

"I know," he said. "I didn't even know she was getting it done. I was pissed off to be honest."

The anger in his voice convinced her he was telling the truth.

"So what do you say?" he asked. "While your sisters away, I'll give you lessons. As soon as we can, we'll get your license, and then when your ready to go a car. Then you can go where you want, when you want."

Helga sat up and looked at him hopefully. "Really?" she asked. "Promise?"

"Promise," he told her with a smile, and kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger a moment. Turmoil was going on inside Helga's body. The feelings she was getting were like the ones she got with Arnold, but more intense. Images of her dreams, and of him and that woman that time were running through her mind. She swallowed.

. . .

True to his word, Steven did take her for a driving lesson. He showed her everything she needed to know, while Olga stood on the steps, watching. Helga looked over at her sister, whose eyes were small, and wearing a frown. She smiled and waved. Then Steven had her start the car and make her way down the driveway.

"Are we going out today?" she asked excitedly. Steven laughed.

"Not today, just to the end of the drive, three point turn, then back up and around," he explained. "Practice that for a bit, and once I know you know the differencce between break and excellerator, we'll venture onto the road. Besides, the police are around again today."

"Why?" Helga asked.

"They found another body, this time on the beach," he told her.

Helga hit the breaks suddenly, causing Steven to fly forward. "What?"

"That's just what they told me," he said. "And don't just slam your breaks on like that. If we'd been on the road with someone behind us, they would have rear-ended you!"

"Sorry," Helga said, moving forward again.

"Look, I know you think we're keeping you prisoner here, but we're not," he explained. "It's just so isolated out here, and if someones murdering girls and dumping their bodies around this area, that means that they're on our roads. My fear is them getting on the property."

Helga looked at him, and saw genuine concern in his face. She felt a small tingle of fear in her stomach.

"When did this start happening?" she asked.

"It happened a couple of times when I was a teenager," he explained. "One of the girls I went to school with. It was around that time that my father started setting up servalience around the property. Haven't had problems for years, so I'm guessing they caught whoever it was."

"And now they're out?" Helga asked.

"That, or they were never away to begin with," he said. "Anyway, less on that, more on the lesson, okay?"

Helga nodded and went back to what she was doing, before realizing something important.

"What's a three point turn?"

. . .

Helga stood at her window the next day watching the police forensic teams comb over the area near the fence line in the woods. She was hoping that they wouldn't find any notes that she and Arnold may have left. If they did, they didn't say anything to anyone. Before nightfall they were gone. Helga made her way downstairs. Autumn had arrived, and a little while later a heavy rain began. Watching the police all over the place was scary. They'd never been close enough to the property for her to see them. At dinner Steven broke thee news.

"They're going to going over the property tomorrow," he told everyone.

"Why?" Olga asked, looking shocked.

"They just need to have a look around, see if there's anything suspicious."

Dinner was quiet, everyone thinking about what was happening in the area. It was scary. And the next day it was front page news. Helga gasped.

Sheena? The victim was Sheena!

"Oh my God!" she said, dropping the paper. She felt like she had been punched, and that she was going to be sick.

"Helga, what is it?" Olga demanded.

"That girl they found was Sheena," Helga said. "A girl I went to school with. Hippy, tall, skinny, quiet."

For the first time in a while, sympathy came over Olga's face, and she looked like the big sister Helga remembered.

"Oh, Helga," she said, coming forward. "I'm so sorry." She let her sister take her in her arms and hold her. Helga wasn't close to Sheena, but it was still a shock. Olga and Helga went into the kitchen and had a glass of apple juice.

Real fear surfaced in Helga then. Going by the report Sheena had vanished around the time she was planning to make her great escape.

"It could have been me," she whispered.

"What could have been you?" Olga asked, sitting a piece of chocolate cake in front of her.

"When Sheena disappeared I was climbing out my window to run away," she said. "What if he was out there that night, and I had managed to get out. He could have gotten me. It could've been my body . . ."

"But it wasn't," Olga said. "But you can see why we were so upset now, don't you."

Helga just nodded.

"For a while though, maybe use the indoor pool, and stay out of the maze, and away from the perimetre," she advised. "The idea that someone could be out there, watching the house, watching us, gives me the creeps."

"What's going on?" Steven asked, entering the kitchen.

"Helga knew the victim," she explained.

"Oh, man, that's rough," he said. "I remember how it felt when I recognized one of the victims years ago."

"Years ago?" Olga asked. "This has happened before?" Steven just nodded.

"You wanna talk, I'm happy to listen," he said, sitting down and swiping some cake.

"Maybe later," she said. "When will the bars be removed from my windows?"

. . .

A knock came at the boarding House just as dinner was finished. Mr. Hyunn was the one who answered it and let the police in.

"We're looking to speak to Arnold," the bigger policeman said. Arnold stepped forward.

"Is this about Helga?" he asked. The policeman shook his head.

"This is about a school friend of your's, Sheena," said the woman with him. "We understand you went to school with her?"

Arnold looked at them confused. Why did they want to talk to him about Sheena? "Yeah."

"We understand that you have been in the area where her body was located," the man said.

All the color drained from Arnold's face. Body? They had found Sheena's body? Everyone thought she had just run away. She'd been having problems at home since her mother re-married . . .

"I don't understand," he said. "Where?"

. . .

"Helga, there's a policewoman wanting to speak with you," Olga told her. Helga frowned, getting up and making her way down to the kitchen where two police officers were sitting at the table, each with a glass of water in front of them. One was a big older man. "Here she is. I'm not sure how much help she will be."

Helga made her way over to the table and sat down.

"I'm sure you know about the young woman's body found near by, in the woods," the woman started. "We've already spoken to your friend, Arnold."

Helga flicked her eyes quickly to her sister, who was frowning, then back at the police officers and licked her lips. Shit. Now they were going to find out how Helga and Arnold had been communicating.

"We found a correspondence of yours to him near the fence line," the man said. "We want to know though, if you have seen any other activity in the area?"

Helga looked up. Seriously?

"No," she said. "I haven't seen anything strange. No one ever comes out here."

"Except your friend, Arnold," the woman said.

"I'm sorry," Olga said, taking a seat. "What do you mean by correspondence?"

Helga's head dropped to the table with a bang. Crap. The police officers seemed to realize that they had exposed something.

"Well, we found a letter to Arnold, in a zip lock bag, tied to a rock, thrown on the other side of the fence," the woman explained, looking at Helga apologetically. "We've already spoken to him, and he's said he's never seen anyone around during his visits."

"So that's how you two managed to get to the beach?" Olga snapped. "You've been talking to him, even after I've asked you not to!"

The police officers gave each other an awkward look.

"We're not concerned about that, right now," the man said. "We're concerned about whether or not your sister has seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area."

"Other than me, and Arnold, no," Helga said. "I mean, you see the occational car, but no one ever stops. You have driven up the driveway, right?"

"Helga," her sister said, warning creeping in.

"So at no point in time have you ever seen anyone in the wooded area around the house at all?" the woman asked. Helga shook her head.

"Sorry."

"Well, we'll leave our number here, and if you do see anything, or think of something, please call either one of us immediately," the woman said, handing her a card. Then she turned to Olga. "If you don't mind, would we be able to speak to anyone else living or working here?"

Olga nodded, and dismissed Helga, who went back up to her room. She had to admit, that as much as she had wanted to get outside, with all the activity going on around here lately, she had stayed indoors. The idea that there could be someone in the maze, ready to kill her or worse, that her sister had planted in her head, scared the shit out of her. Who would do something like that?

And why?


	13. Chapter 13

A couple of weeks later, . . .

Helga was again woken by the feeling someone was watching her. But when she looked around the room, no one was there. It creeped her out enough that she got out of bed and looked into the hallway. Steven's room was closer to her's, being just across the hallway. She practically leaped across the hallway and opened his door, not even bothering to knock. Like her room, it had a small lounge area that lead to the bedroom. She went to that closed door and knocked.

"Steven," she called, knocking again a little louder. "Steven."

The door opened and she went red immediately when she realized he had no clothes on at all. His hair was tousled, and he was looked at her with bleary eyes for a moment, before suddenly realizing what was going on.

"Helga?" he asked confused.

"I think someone was in my room," she blurted, trying _not_ to look _down there._

"Someone was in your room?" he asked, waking up almost instantly. "Just now?"

"No, it felt like someone was in my room watching me," she repeated. Without realizing what she was doing she looked down, then up again. It was then that Steven realized as well that he was wearing no clothes. He closed the door and after a few moments of bumbling around, opened it again. He was wearing boxers.

"Maybe your just feeling a bit paranoid, with all that has been going on around here," he said, trying to pretend like Helga hadn't just seen him in all his naked glory. And it was glorious. Helga snapped herself out of that train of thoughts.

"No, I've had this feeling before" she said. "A few times. Once I even heard my door close."

Helga saw the alarm cross his face, then vanish. "Olga was probably checking up on you. And you were on pain relief for a while. Drugs can play tricks on your mind."

"I'm scared though," she said. "What if there really was someone in there?"

"There's only five people in this house, Helga. Me, you, your sister, Cally and Colin," he told her. "And none of use are going to be sneaking into your room."

"But-"

"No buts. Look, you can stay in here the rest of the night if you like," he said, motioning to his couch. Helga looked at it, then at him.

"I'd rather be in the bed with you," she said. Steven looked at her shocked. "That way, I could use you as a shield if someone broke in. You could get murdered while I ran to safety."

Steven laughed nervously. "Gee, thanks," he said.

"Your welcome."

. . .

One year. She had been living here for one year now. One year since her parent's passed away. She sighed and rolled over. She didn't want to get out of bed. Finally her sister came in and opened her curtains.

"No sense dwelling about it," she said, looking out the windows. Helga got up and had a look, too. Colin was walking around the perimetre of the fence.

"What's he doing?" Helga asked.

"Some of the security cameras aren't working," she said. "Steven has him out fixing them. Now get up. Steven and i are taking you out for breakfast."

Helga got up and went into her bathroom to have a quick shower. When she came back she was surprised to see her sister still standing at the window watching Colin. Her lips were pursed and her eyes small and suspicious looking. When she realized Helga was watching her, she smiled. "Hurry up."

Helga was beginning to think something was wrong with her sister. She would go through periods of absolute meanness, then like a switch, would be nice and caring. The only thing really keeping Helga still was the idea that some creep was out there, prowling, and could grab her. As much as she didn't like where her life was right now, she didn't want to die!

"How come the camera's weren't working?" Helga asked.

"The screens were broken," Olga told her. "I think . . ." she stopped when she saw Colin entering the house. Helga stopped behind her and watched him look up at them with a smile.

"All fixed," he said, then made his way into the kitchen.

"You think?" Helga whispered. Olga shook her head, and continued down the stairs, leaving Helga curious as to what her sister had to say.

. . .

Helga sat at the computer, while her sister sat nearby. Steven was on another, working from home. They had decided that Helga would be better doing correspondence, than them having to drag some poor soul all the way out there. Helga knew it had been a struggle. The school system had been reluctant to let her do her last year at home. When exam's came, she would _have_ to go in to do them. There was no way around it. The idea made Helga nervous. Something in her was changing, she could feel it.

The other day she was waiting for Steven to come give her a driving lesson when she saw that it looked like the gates were open. She had looked at the keys, then hopped in the car, and started the engine, thinking this was the perfect time to just drive away. But the idea of leaving sent anxiety coursing through her body, and she had switched the car off, and sat back, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She had gotten control of herself before Steven got into the car.

Steven and she were spending a lot of time together. Olga was frequently unwell, and Steven had finally had enough and called a doctor in to see her. Helga didn't even know doctor's did home calls anymore. He had sent Olga for blood tests. Helga found herself feeling anxious about that, too. What if something were seriously wrong? When she was on her own she would go to the pool and swim. It seemed to become the only thing that helped. Steven was the first to notice all the time she spent in the pool. But something about having her head under water at the moment, was just . . . she couldn't even explain it.

"You know, I walk in here now, expecting to find you've turned into a mermaid," he joked. Helga swam over to where he was standing. He took a step back, and she knowingly smiled.

"Are you going to join me?" she asked, smiling at him. It was a strange smile she could feel on her face. One she found would grace her mouth when he was around. One she used to wear when she teased Arnold . . . but the feeling behind it had changed. Everything in her feelings was starting to change. Steven looked down at her for a moment, before stripping off his top and diving in. Helga spun around to watch as he came back up and made his way over to her. He swam close and blocked her in with his hands on either side of her head against the pool wall.

"What game are you playing, Helga?" he asked. "And do you know the rules?"

"I don't know what your talking about," she said, before going under and around him. He stayed there for a moment, before turning towards her.

"I'm not a little boy, Helga," he told her. "It may be cute and fun when your kids, but it takes on different meaning when your older."

They stared at each other from across the pool, before Helga swan toward him.

"Do you like me?" she asked.

"You know I do, or I wouldn't spend so much time with you," he told her. She'd reached out and touched his chest.

"Why do you and Olga sleep in seperate rooms?" she asked. Steven grabbed her hand and gave it a tug until she was close. Then he leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"She complains I have an insatiable appitite."

Helga's heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to fly up her throat and out her mouth. Her breath quickend.

"Is that why you sleep with other women?" she asked. "Because Olga complains?"

She could see Steven thinking something over. He loosened his grip on her for a moment, then seemed to make a decision. Leaning towards her he caught her lips with his. He was rough, and when he pulled away from her, it felt like he'd taken all the air in her lungs with him.

"I won't say no to you," she said quietly.

"I know," he said. He kissed her again, a little more gently. She could feel the affect she was having on him, and the effect he was having on her . . .

"Steven!" they heard Colin call out. Helga dipped under the water and moved away from him, over to the side of the pool.

"Colin, what can I help you with?" he asked.

"Your wife's test results are back," he told him. "The doctor is on the phone now."

"I'll be right there," Steven said.

. . .

Thanksgiving was a month away. It would be her second one there. Olga had been treating her like an equal. They had sat down and printed out invitations to a Thanksgiving Party, and decided on a menu.

"Olga?" Helga asked, while looking over catering options. "Why and when did you have your ovaries removed?"

Olga looked at her surprised. "How did you know about that? Mommy was still pregnant with you when that happened."

"Steven said something to me once, saying how much you wanted children, but couldn't and I asked why," she admitted.

"Ovarian cancer," she told her.

"Isn't that what older people get?" Helga asked, shocked. Olga shook her head.

"Apparently not," she said. "There's been cases of baby girls being born with issues."

"Babies!" Helga exclaimed.

"It's not recommended, because it sends you into early menopause," she told her. Thinking back, Helga wondered if that were why Olga was always seemingly such an emotional mess. "But sometimes it can't be helped. They left the rest in, so I could always carry if I wanted to, but I had that removed a few years back, too. What was the point after all?"

"What about a surrogate?" Helga asked.

Olga sighed. "I've read too many stories of that path going wrong, of the surrogates deciding to keep the babies. Enough talk about this please?"

. . .

Her sister had gone to an appointment in town and Steven was avoiding her, which made her feel even more awful. What had she done wrong? She knew she shouldn't have let him know that she had feelings for him. The day before the party she decided to go for a walk around the property. But she was going to stay away from the fence line. She really had to force herself to go out, and once out in the crisp air, considered going back in.

"No," she mumbled to herself. "I have to go for a walk. I have to get used to being out of the house." So she forced herself to walk forward. Looking around she decided again to go into the maze, to find her way through on her own. It didn't take going in far for all noise to be lost. The high hedges cut off any noise that didn't come from above. She looked up at the overcast sky and shivered. She realized that if she did get lost, or call for help, no one would be able to find her. She had asked for a phone and her sister had shot her down with "Who would you call?". The switch had been flipped and her sister was back to being mean and cold. Helga had never felt so alone now that Steven was avoiding her. Her eyes stung, and she stopped and sat down.

What had happened to that strong, independent, opinionated Helga G. Pataki that had ruled her classmates with fear? Even though she had gone quiet and studious. she still had an attitude on her. Had she never had to hide her feelings from Arnold, is this what she would have been like? Instead of angry, and defensive, would she have been malancholy and openly sensitive? Man, she would have been dog meat if she had been, thinking back onto the way her peers were from childhood up.

Then a big fat rain drop hit her face. "Great," she grumbled, turning around to look at a hedge. There was one of three sides. _Stupid, stupid!_ she thought. She had kept right on walking, not taking notice of her surroundings. The rain started to fall a bit more. She looked down at her converse sneakers, capri pants and cardigan combo. _What. An. Idiot!_ she berated herself. She put her right hand against the hedge and followed it . . . or was it supposed to be her left hand? Wait . . . was there an order? She started to panic, then realized that would be a bad idea. _Calm down, Helga ol' girl, you'll get out just fine. You just have to remember what the trick Steven told you was_ . . .

But she couldn't. She hadn't even really been paying attention to what he was saying. Looking at her watch she saw that she'd been wandering around in here already for little more than an hour. How did you do that? It's not like it was really, really big. Maybe a football field length and width wise? Come to think of it, that was pretty big. For a moment she was impressed, until panic started to rise up in her again. She shook her head and continued following where the hedge led her right hand. Dead end. So she tried her left this time. Dead end.

"Oh crap." she said. "Where the hell am I?" _How could i be so dumb?_ She continued on her way, coming to dead end after dead end, until one dead end she found she wasn't alone. She couldn't have kept her scream in had she tried. It rose from the bottom of her lungs and raced up her throat and out in such a rush she lost vision for a moment and thought she would pass out. She had never screamed so loud in her life, and was pretty sure t would have cut through a hundred mazes to make it to ears outside. She stumbled back when she stopped and threw up.

She'd just found a body. She was lost, in a maze, with a body!

She passed out.

. . .

She woke to shaking. She was being carried by someone. Opening her eyes she looked up to see Steven pale and scared looking. She was soaked and wet. She leaned her head against his chest. Had she had a nightmare?

"Colin, call the police!" he shouted as they entered the house.

"Why?"

"Just call the damn police!" he shouted at him.

Steven rushed Helga upstairs to her room. When they got to her room he laid her on the couch and went into the bathroom and ran the bath. Helga was coming around when he came in to check on her.

"I'm cold," she said, her teeth chattering.

"Shock too, no doubt," he said, moving forward and taking off her cardigan. "Shit, Helga, are you okay? What am i asking, I'm not even okay."

She stood there as he stripped her down to her underwear, then went back to check on her bath. She heard him turn off the taps and come back to her.

"You need to get out of your underwear and have a bath, warm up," he told her. "I need to go check on the call."

He left in a rush, slamming her door behind him. She went into the bathroom and stripping off her underwear hopped in the bath. He'd put bubble bath in there. It smelled of lavender. After about ten minutes Steven returned.

"I'm not sure we'll be having that party now," he said, looking at the floor.

"Why?" Helga asked.

"The body, Helga," he told her.

"Oh, right," she said, feeling numb. "I want to get out."

"Wash your hair," he said, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. "Warm all of you up. The police are on their way here, and will no doubt want to speak to you."

Helga nodded, suddenly feeling like she was going to be sick again. She looked up as Steven dipped a cup in her bathwater, brushing her thigh, and closed her eyes as he poured it over her head.

"You have sick on your face," he said, wiping it with a face cloth. "What were you doing in the maze, Helga?"

"I just wanted to walk, have an adventure," she told him.

"We told you not to go in there," he said. "What if the culprit was in there, too? Christ."

Helga watched as he ran shaky hands through his hair. She looked down. He was so damn sexy. _Seriously? You just found a body, and your thinking about how sexy your brother-in-law is?_ She took the cloth from him and wiped herself over, then stood up without thinking. She remembered Steven was there when he wrapped a towel around her. Then it flooded back. That poor girl, lying there naked, barbed wire wrapped around her neck, eyes open but colorless, body seeming purple and blue. A sob escaped her, and Steven wrapped his arms around her. Helga wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest and cried.

"Let's get you dressed," he mumbled into her hair, then kissed her head. Helga looked up at him and him down at her, before she went on tiptoe and kissed him. When she pulled away he shook his head. "Not now. Too much." He let her go and left her standing there, feeling confused and conflicted. And rejected again. When she went into her room, she put on sweatpants and an old t-shirt, then went into the lounge part where Steven was sitting there, thinking. He looked up at her, then held out a hand. She took it and he pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her again. She kissed him back, both seeming desperate to just forget what they had both just seen. Knocking drew their attention to the door and Colin's voice called trough that the police had arrived and wanted to speak to them both.

Pulling away from each other, both silently went to the door.

"Give me a minute more," he said. "I need to calm down."

Helga having felt what he meant, nodded and left the room and followed Colin down to the dining room. She recognized the woman cop, but she had a different partner with her this time.

Then the questions began . . .


	14. Chapter 14

(A/N: I'm going to make longer chapters, otherwise this is going to get stupidly long with chapter after chapter, after chapter . . . )

. . .

. . .

Olga arrived home as the police were leaving. She was filled in on what had happened and sat there, shocked. Helga went up to bed, not feeling hungry. But she couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw that girls face. The body had been removed but the area was cordoned off. There would be people arriving in the morning to go over the maze, and probably the rest of the property. Steven had given them access to everywhere. Everyone was shocked, especially Colin. He went right to the security room with a police officer. He'd put in cameras in the maze without saying anything to anyone but Steven. Even Olga was shocked by that.

"Really?" she asked. Steven said he had done it for safety reasons, and it was how he had realized Helga was in trouble. He had seen her go off into the maze. After an hour he had checked the camera's on his computer and saw her wandering around lost. He hadn't known when he went in that she had found a body. Now Colin handed all the disks over to the police.

Helga locked herself in her room, not even bothering with dinner. She just wasn't hungry. Her sistser came by once to check on her, but Helga told her she didn't feel like talking. Steven stopped by, but she ignored him too. She just couldn't deal with all the emotions running through her right now. Between the shock and horror of finding that girl, and then the confusion and . . . something, with Steven . . .she just wanted to sleep.

. . .

A week before Thanksgiving, the police arrived on their doorstep again. Helga was home alone at the time . . . well, Colin was around somewhere, she wasn't sure where. Cally was still away. So it was left to Helga to open the door and let them in.

"Is your sister or brother home at the moment?" the policeman asked.

"No, they've gone out to a business lunch," Helga said. The police officer frowned, before looking at a piece of paper and asking for Colin and Cally.

"I'm not sure where Colin is, but I can page him," Helga said. "Cally is still on holiday."

"Holiday?" he asked.

"After the girl was found, he gave Cally and Colin time off," Helga informed him, just as Colin came in the door.

"I'm sorry, I was around the back looking for a shovel," he told them. "What's going on?"

"We've reviewed the footage, and we have images that we need you to look at," he said, pulling photos from a folder. The three of them went into the dining room and took seats. Colin looked at them first and went white.

"It's Cally," he said. Helga looked over and saw an image of Cally dragging the girls body and gasped.

"There are others, from the front gate," he said, pulling them out. "All involved Cally and her car. We were hoping she would be here to question."

Colin shook his head. "She's still taking leave," he told him.

"But you can confirm, without doubt, that this is Cally Mutch?" Both Colin and Helga nodded. The police officer got up and left abruptly, going out to his car, Colin and Helga followed him and watched as he got onto the radio. Without saying a word, he left.

"I can't believe it," Colin said. "Not Cally. I struggled to get her to use fly spray on flies."

A few hours later Steven and Olga arrived, and Colin was there to greet them.

"They suspect Cally?" Olga asked, shocked.

"She was seen on camera dragging the body through the maze," he informed them.

An hour later the police were back at the door with a search warrant for Cally's rooms at the house. Everyone had to sit in the dining room while they did. Steven told them they had free range.

"Helga," Olga said suddenly. "Did you ever borrow my perfume?"

Helga wrinkled her nose. "No!"

"Why do you ask?" Steven asked her.

"A bottle is missing," Olga told them. "I just thought maybe Helga had borrowed it, and never gave it another thought."

Helga's eyes went wide. That night . . . it seemed so long ago now . . . when she could smell her sisters perfume in her room . . . the times she felt like someone was in there, watching her . . . had it been Cally?

. . .

There wasn't much more that they could do, except notify the police if she showed up. They had checked her apartment that she shared with her mother, and came up with the evidence they needed to prove she was involved in the killings. And who she was doing them with.

"Basically it looks like her boyfriend does the killing, she does the dumping," they were told. A warrant was put out for her arrest. Steven and Olga decided to go ahead with their Thanksgiving Party, determined not to let such things stop them from enjoying themselves.

Helga had invited Lila again, hoping that she would be carrying news from Arnold. Her and Steven hadn't done anything together since that night. Helga did what she could to avoid him, and he seemingly followed her lead. He and Olga were even talking of doing a second honeymoon. But there was never any talk of Helga's future. She still wanted to get away. She had to sit her final exam's the next year. Then she would be free. But, what would she do?

When the party day arrived, Helga carefully did her makeup, her hair, and went to her sisters wardrobe to find something more grown up to wear. She settled on a red backless dress with, and took her sisters silver heels. Helga was never one to admire her body, but she did smile when she noticed her boobs were a bit bigger. She left the room, and made her way downstairs, hoping for single young men. She was in a mood to flirt. Or . . . attempt to flirt. Okay, she was probably going to make a fool of herself, but still. She was going to rub in Steven's face that she could get other guys attention.

All that flew out the window though when Lila arrived.

"Helga!" she cried out, running over to her and hugging her tightly. Helga hugged her back and breathed in the scent of her perfume. She knew it was kind of creepy, but it was so good to seen, touch and smell someone "new". "Oh, Helga, I drove here myself, in my own car, you have to come see it!"

She waved as they went past Olga and Steven, Olga smiling and waving back and going back to her conversation and Steven frowning.

"Your really excited about your, huh?" Helga asked, laughing. She never thought she would think of Lila as a saviour.

"Oh, it's less about the car, and more what's inside it," she told her excitedly.

"Why, what's in it?" Helga asked.

"Not what," Lila whispered. "Who."

Lila had parked in a darker area of the driveway, and Helga was getting a bit nervous seeing as how the police hadn't apprehended Cally yet. What if she was out there? Or her boyfriend?

"Surprise," a familiar, yet more masculine voice said. Helga's heart stopped and she inhaled sharply. Standing on the drivers side outside of the car was Arnold. Her hand flew to her throat, and she clamped her mouth shut to prevent her squeal of delight from coming out.

"He had to hide in the back seat," Lila told her. "Not that it mattered. I figured you two could do whatever, while I cover for you."

Tears came to Helga's eyes. She watched as Lila handed the keys over to Arnold. "Don't dent it!"

"I won't," Arnold said laughing. He came around and opened the passenger side door of the car. So nervous she thought she was going to spew, Helga went forward and hopped in. She looked back up at the house.

"Don't worry," Lila said. "Just don't be too long. I'll come up with a story if need be."

Arnold closed the door and climbed in the drivers side. "We'll be back soon, Lila. Thanks."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she sand teasing and laughing afterwards. Helga went red and looked down, something that didn't go unnoticed by both of them. They gave each other a look. How odd. Where was Helga's comeback?

Not giving it too much more thought, Arnold started the car.

"Wait, let's just wait til she's inside again," Helga said. "Just to be sure she gets in okay."

They sat there while Lila disappeared inside, and then Arnold started the long drive down to the gate.

Arnold noted that Helga was quiet, but fidgety, and kept looking in the rear veiw mirror. And as they got closer to the open gate she got near to hyperventilating.

"Are you okay?" Arnold asked worriedly. Helga just nodded. He went back to looking forward when they came to the end, and he turned onto the road. "I thought we could go to the beach, maybe? Take a walk?"

"This is too risky," Helga blurted. "What if they do find out I'm gone?"

"Since when are you so averse to risk?" Arnold asked.

"I'm not averse, I'm just . . ."

"Just what?"

Helga just shook her head, and started breathing exercises to calm herself down.

. . .

Lila dodged and avoided Olga and Steven and eventually snuck upstairs to Helga's room. She would stay there for a while and then make her way down, telling them Helga felt unwell and had gone to bed early. She looked at her watch. Twenty minutes were gone already. She sat down and read a book. After another ten minutes she went back downstairs. It was another thirty minutes before Steven found her.

"Oh, she wasn't feeling well, so we went upstairs for a bit," Lila told him. "She just wants to be left alone for now." She walked away quickly, finding a cute boy standing alone and striking up a conversation. She saw her father talking to another older man. Then she went off to dance.

. . .

Steven walked up to Helga's room, suspecting Lila of lying. Something seemed off. He hadn't seen Helga around once, and when he had spotted Lila she was alone. He knocked on her door and getting no answer went in anyway. Sure enough it was empty. He charged back downstairs, and finding Lila pulled her aside.

"You ied to me, she's not there, where is she?" he demanded. Olga noticed and came over.

"I'm every so sure I don't know what you mean," Lila said, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"What's going on?" Olga asked, looking between them. "Your causing a scene."

Steven took a step back. "Helga is gone. Now where is she?"

"Helga's missing?" Olga asked. "Oh God, Cally is still out there. Lila, please, where is she?"

"I don't know," she honestly replied. "She was in her room when I saw her last. Maybe she's somewhere else in the house."

"I hope so," Steven said, before going to look for her.

. . .

Helga and Arnold sat quietly, staring out at the waves and listening to the radio. They hadn't said much, not quite knowing what to say to the other. Helga hated it as much as Arnold did. It shouldn't be like this. Arnold had noticed a lot of changes in Helga. Where she would tease him, she was quiet. There was no "Football Head", just Arnold. She used her manners with him. She looked like she wanted to cry.

"What's happened, Helga?" he asked. Finally she did burst into tears.

"I don't know, I don't know," she said between sobs. "I want to run away, but I'm too scared to leave, we had a killer in our house, living there in our house. I found a body, Arnold, a fucking body!"

Arnold put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her head down to his shoulder and let her just cry. She kept on going.

"I have no friends, no one to talk to but Steven and my sister, and neither want to talk to me," she gasped. "Olga is always busy, and Steven . . . I don't know what he wants. One second he will kiss me, then he ignores me-"

"He's kissed you?" Arnold demanded.

"Sometimes I wish I would just stay asleep, never wake up . . ." she admitted. Things that she wouldn't even admit to herself, she was admitting to Arnold. Arnold listened with growing concern and alarm. She was basically saying, in a round about way, that she wished she would die. Or so it seemed to him.

"It feels like I'm alone, completely alone," she finished with. Arnold held her for a long time, until she finished crying. He looked at the clock on the dashboard. They had to get back, she had to sneak back in.

"I want to see you again, Helga, please," Arnold practically begged.

"Steven goes to work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday," Helga told him. "The rest of the time he works at home. Olga is more erratic . . ."

"Fine, meet me every Saturday morning at the bottom of the gate at nine thirty. I'll be there, I promise," he swore. Helga looked at him and swallowed the lump in her throat and just nodded. "We'll go out, to the beach, to the movies, anything you want to do, we'll do it."

"But in winter . . ."

"We'll find a way," he said. "Your eighteen soon, and when you are, you can leave, come stay with me."

Helga felt a light of hope ignite in her.

"But if we're going to do that, we need to get you home, now," he said, starting the car.

. . .

Lila stood at the front door and saw Arnold pull up in her car, and raced down to meet them.

"Steven is on a warpath looking for you," she told Helga.

"Steven is?" she asked confused. She would have thought it was Olga. "Where has he looked?"

"Pretty much everywhere I think," Lila told her.

"I know where he wont," she said, taking off around the back of the house. Arnold got back in Lila's car, but watched Helga dissapear, his heart breaking. He had to get her out of here. Somehow.

. . .

Helga went over to the outside pool, quickly stripped off the dress and shoes, and hopped in, dipping her head under the water. Then got herself back to sitting on the steps. Just as she was standing up she saw Steven come out of the house and stare at her in shock, standing there in her wet bra and panties.

"Helga, what the hell are you doing?" he asked, coming towards her. "It's November, are you trying to catch pneumonia?"

"I was going to go to the spa and warm up," she said, picking up the dress and shoes. "I just found it too stuffy in there and needed to get out."

"To a un-heated pool in November?" Steven demanded. Helga just shrugged and started toward the house. Steven stood there, stunned for a moment, before turning and following her into the indoor pool room, where the indoor pool, spa and sauna were. She went straight to the spa and hopped in, leaning over and pushing the buttons. Steven watched her for a while before undoing his tie and belt.

"What are you doing?" Helga asked.

"Joining you," he said. "It looks nice."

"I'm just in here to warm up, then I'm going up to my room," she told him. "I'm not in a social mood tonight."

She watched as Steven finished stripping off and joined her in the spa. When he sat close she moved away.

"Aren't you worried Olga will see us?" she asked. "I am." She got up and out.

"Get back in, Helga," he said in a stern voice. Having offloaded on Arnold felt like emptying an overfull suitcase. She smirked. There was a spark reignited in her. The old Helga was rearing her head, now that she had pushed off all the shit weighing her down. She wasn't alone.

She had Lila on her side, for starters.

And she still had Arnold.

"I'd really rather not," she said, and without looking back at him, left.

. . .

Helga watched Steven leave that first Saturday after the party. She looked at the clock. eight am. She had an hour to get ready and get down there without being seen. Hurriedly she again dressed, brushed her hair and and got dressed. It was unseasonably warm. She would be surprised if there was snow for winter, though she knew how the weather could just change. When she was finished she rushed down the stairs, and out the door, and down to the gate. She'd gotten the password to get out from watching Steven punch in the numbers while taking her out for her driving lessons. She still hadn't had any formal ones. Then she waited, and looked at her watch. It was ten past. Had he changed his mind? Should she go back in? Just as she was thinking about it, she saw that old green Packard coming down the road. She had to admit, she was shocked. She couldn't believe the thing was still going!

Arnold pulled it into the drive and she hurried to get in. She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"So, where to today?" he asked.

"I think a nice stroll along the beach would do wonders," she said. "Maybe some lunch somewhere nice-"

"I know just the place," he said, pulling out and heading in the direction of the beach. But instead of taking the road that led to the beach he took a road to the left.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," he said. "Just relax."

. . .

Sitting in a booth of the pizza eatery, she shook her head. "I never knew this place was here. How did you know it was here?"

"I came out this way nearly everyday during Summer, just hoping to see you," he admitted, going pink.

After they had eaten, they just strolled along the beach, eventually holding hands.

"I've been worried about you," he told her. "After everything you told me . . ."

"I'm sorry," she said, "But I have no one to talk to, and you were there. It wasn't fair of me to off load on you. But I'm glad I did."

"You are?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, nodding and smiling. "I felt like I was drowning, and after pouring out everything I felt like I'd reached the surface, and could breath again. I hadn't even known I was in such a bad state."

They stopped and stared at one another, before Helga leaned in and kissed him. And he kissed back.

. . .

The next Saturday she again watched as Steven left, then repeated what she had done the previous Saturday. Once in the car, Arnold drove her into Hillwood, where she saw Phoebe again. They hugged and talked, and laughed. Gerald joined them a little bit afterwards. Phoebe and him were awkward around each other, though Arnold didn't know why when Helga asked. Arnold and Helga went to a movie. It had been over a year since she had been to the movie theatre and that had been with Steven!

Again they held hands and kissed, though things got a little more heated when they stopped on the side road. Helga couldn't help herself. Arnold had become her life raft, her link to the outside world. She loved his smell, the taste of his lips, the feel of his skin, everything, absolutely everything! She didn't want to leave his presence. He made her feel alive and revived and in love and loved! It was so hard to stop herself. The coming Winter scared her. They would most likely get cut off from each other. How would she survive?

When she got back into the house she went straight to her room, dug out a diary and began to write, just as she once did. The words flowed from her hands to the pen to the paper. Once again she dug out her paints and pencils and brushes, and would lose herself in her art. Sh was again seeing the beauty in everything.

Except the maze. If she had it her way she'd destroy the damn thing. It seemed to have a dark cloud hanging over it.

During the week, she kept up with her studies, even though if she were in a normal school she would have stopped. Olga would go out with her friends, never offering to take Helga along, not that she would have gone anyway. Helga lived for Saturday. She was also getting her snark and attitude back, and often turned it on her sister or Steven. It bothered Steven more than Olga, and Helga saw that and would neddle and heckle him, taking great delight in making him annoyed or uncomfortable. She was feeling powerful again.

And that third Saturday neither she nor Arnold stopped themselves. Feeling him inside her, hot and sweaty skin against skin, oh, oh, ohhh, she delighted in it. She gave him the code to get in the gate. Though that Saturday was an odd one, and they were almost caught. Helga saw Steven' car coming.

"Shit!" she said, sinking low in the seat. "Keep driving, don't stop."

Arnold didn't ask why. He saw Steven's car as well. Steven didn't even look at the car, and Arnold dropped her a little down the road. The kissed and promised to meet again, and he drove away. Helga trudged back to the house, and as she got most of the way along the drive she saw the police cars sitting there.

"What now?" she muttered, hurrying her steps. Her body was still humming from her time with Arnold. Had she been foolish? Three days together, one spent in the backseat of that old Packard . . .

When she arrived they were already speaking to Olga, Steven and Colin. She went in and saw that everyone had a stricken look on their faces. "What's going on?"

"They found Cally and her boyfriend," Olga said quietly. "Murder-suicide."

Helga felt the wind knocked out of her.

She didn't hear much else, and walked away. _How sad_ , Helga thought. What had happened in Cally's life that led to that?

A little while later Steven found her sitting in the sun room, easel set up, painting half done, brush poised in the air, notebook beside her, staring out at the grey clouds. She closed the notebook and moved it under her bum when she saw Steven's reflection in the window.

"Been a lot of death lately," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Helga gave a short laugh. "Just call me the Grim Reaper."

"Your sister is going away for the weekend," he told her. "I am too. Doing an out of town trip. Want to join me?"

Helga shook her head, continuing to stare straight ahead.

"Why not?" he asked. Helga stared at him.

"Because i don't need you."


	15. Chapter 15

(I will be condensing the story, by combining some shorter chapters to make longer chapters)

The day before Christmas a package came for Helga. Steven received it and brought it to her.

"Ordering online, Helga?" he asked, placing it beside her on the couch. She was reading.

She picked the package up and opened it, finding art pencils and a new sketchpad and notebook. "Well, no one will take me into town to get stuff myself," she pointed out.

"All you have to do is ask," Steven said, sitting next to her. "What do you put in those notebooks?"

"Poetry, short stories, sometimes I just doodle in them," she told him. "Whatever I feel like."

"Well, what do you write about?" he asked, leaning back. Helga shrugged.

"None of your business," she snapped, looking down at her book.

"Have you given any more thought to my offer?" he asked, letting his fingers brush Helga's cheek and run down her neck.

"Nope," she said, trying to ignore the goosebumps that action had caused. "I'm busy."

"Doing what?" he asked.

"Planning," she told him.

"Yes, but what are you planning?" he asked again, exasperated.

"None of your business," she repeated. He sighed.

"I thought you said you wouldn't say no to me," he whispered against her ear. He ran his hand across her stomach, down her side, over her hip and to her inner thigh. "Just last month you were practically begging me to touch you. So what changed?"

"I'm leaving," she said. "When I turn eighteen. I'm taking my inheritance and I'm going to travel."

"Where will you travel?" he asked, moving his lips against her neck, and his hand further up her thigh. She stopped his hand, pushing it away and pulling away from him. Her body reacted to his touch, even when her head and heart didn't.

"As far away from here as possible," she snapped. She stood up only to have him grab her arm and pull her back down. She spun around, catching herself before falling onto his lap. He reached a hand behind her head and pulled her face to his, kissing her. Helga pulled away, getting herself into a standing position. "Olga could catch you, you know."

"What makes you think she doesn't already suspect something is happening between us?" he asked, smirking at her. Helga just shook her head, gathered up her parcel and left, going up to her room and calming herself down. Ever since the Thanksgiving party, Steven had changed. Maybe she should cool it with the attitude with him for a bit?

Nah. Both he and her sister deserved everything coming their way!

. . .

"No parties," Olga joked, as she swanned off out the door. Those were her parting words to Helga. Steven was the one who seemed to find any and every reason to delay his departure. Finally Colin came and practically dragged him off.

"I do wish you were coming with me," Steven said. "We could have had fun. Dinner, movies. Each other."

Helga resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, right," she said. "Promises, promises."

Steven sighed and walked out to the car. Helga watched as he and Colin left. Colin wouldn't be coming back, so it was just her for the weekend. Once they had been gone fifteen minutes she went into his office and tried the phone. It wasn't working. She had anticipated that. When she went to look she saw also that the car keys were gone. Now all she had to do was figure out how to turn off the cameras.

. . .

Arnold pulled up at midday. Using the password Helga had given him he punched it in and watched the gates open. He had to admit he was a bit concerned. What if Steven or Olga had changed their plans? What if they were caught? He took his time driving up the driveway, watching with apprehension as the gates closed behind him. He saw Helga standing on the front steps, waiting for him. He had marveled at the size of it from the outside. Now he was going to get a chance to see it from the inside. He pulled his car up and Helga came down the stairs to greet him by throwing her arms around his neck.

"This is going to be awesome!" she shouted. Grabbing his hand she led him into the mansion. Once inside Arnold's mouth dropped and Helga laughed. "Now I know what I must have looked like when I first walked in!"

"This place is huge!" he said, looking at the large staircase, the high ceiling with the chandaler, the rich, plush expensive looking rugs, the polished floors. Arnold could see his reflection in it!

"Come on!" Helga said, dragging him upstairs to her room and throwing open the door.

"You have your own lounge?" he asked, shocked. Lila had warned him, but he thought maybe she was exaggerating a little bit.

"Yep, when you get locked up as much as I have been, you need it too," she told him. Arnold looked around at the plush room. It was a really nice room, but . . . he couldn't handle being locked in it.

"Why do they lock you in?" he asked, walking into her bedroom. "Are those _bars_ on the window!?"

"Yeah, they had them put on after my little accident," she told him. "They didn't want a repeat."

An uncomfortable feeling was coming over Arnold. He was feeling a bit boxed in. What if there was a fire and they couldn't get out of the door? They couldn't use the windows now, either. That had to be a safety hazzard. He didn't feel safe in here at all.

"Let's go back downstairs," he suggested. "How many rooms did you say this place has?"

Twenty up here, but they're all closed up," Helga told him. "They only get opened up when we have guests. "I've only ever been in one, and that was when Lila stayed here. Her's didn't have a lounge, though."

"So there's no chance we could use one of the other rooms?" he asked. "I didn't feel safe in yours with the bars on the windows. What if there was a fire?"

Helga stared at him stunned. How had she never thought of that?

"I suppose we could stay in Olga's room," she said. "The other rooms, like I said, are locked up." She walked over to Olga's door and tried it, but found it locked. She then went over to Steven's and found it locked as well.

"They're all locked?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah," she said, turning away from the doors and making her way downstairs again. Arnold watched her go, frowning. Why would they all lock their bedroom doors. And why didn't it seem to bother Helga?

. . .

They swam in the indoor pool. The weather had gotten much colder suddenly. When watching the news they saw that snow was expected. Lot's of snow.

"I guess that means you'll have to leave earlier, then," Helga said sadly.

"Maybe I'll get snowed in," he joked. It sailed over Helga's head completely.

"No, no you wouldn't want that," she said, sounding distant.

They both contributed to making homemade pizza that night. Arnold saw now, why Helga didn't know about the pizza parlour they went to. It was a good half hour away by car, and Hillwood was about three hours away. And the place was in the middle of no where. Who would want to drive all this way to deliver a pizza? As they were eating, Arnold continued to look around. There was an oppressive air in the house. For all it's grandness, and all the light, there were still shadows in the corners. _If the walls could talk,_ Arnold though, _What would they say?_

 _Run away, run away!_ he thought he heard. He shook his head.

"Are you alright?" Helga asked,

"Yeah, just thinking," he said. "I should probably call my grandparents, let them know I'm okay, and make sure they're okay."

"You'll need to go to the attic for that," Helga told him. "Steven disconnected the phones before he left."

Arnold felt his jaw drop. So, they took the car keys, so Helga couldn't drive. It was too cold and too unsafe to walk anywhere. There were bars on her bedroom windows, and no way to contact the outside world for help if they needed it? What the hell is going on in this house?

"Um, okay then," he said.

"But the door to that is locked, too," she then told him.

"You've got to be joking," he blurted out. Helga shook her head. "Cripes." He'd never felt so trapped and isolated before, even when he went camping, he felt closer to civilisation. Pulling out his phone, he thought the only thing he could do was message Gerald to find out how his grandparents were. He'd explain everything to him later on. He was going to have to use his data. Pulling out his phone he found that at least he could access the internet, though intermitantly. He was feeling more and more uneasy about staying here. What if there was an emergency at home? He wouldn't know about it until it was too late.

"Try in Steven's office," Helga said.

"You mean there's a room here that isn't locked?" he asked sarcastically. He immediately felt bad when he saw Helga flinch. It wasn't her fault. He followed her into the office and jumped when his phone beeped. _How strange_ , he thought. Why would his phone work here, and in a small corner of the attic, but nowhere else in the house? He looked and saw it was a message from Gerald telling him he was crazy. Arnold rolled his eyes, sat down, and messaged him back. Helga just stood there, not sure what to do, before deciding to look through the books on the shelf. She saw nothing of interest and then looked over his desk. She'd only ever been in here with Steven, doing her school work. She sat down at his desk, and opened a drawer. Lot's of papers. Next drawer, folders. She looked though quickly, but nothing interesting. Third drawer and her heart stopped! Keys!

She picked them up, their clinking making Arnold look up. None of them were car keys, and to be honest sh didn't know where they went to. She looked up at Arnold, waving them in the air and smiling. Arnold smiled back.

. . .

One key could open five doors each. There was also a skeleton key amongst them, that they used to get into the attic. Despite having been up there in the past, Helga had never actually explored. They both stood there, in the musty, dusty air, looking around them

"This is huge!" Arnold said loudly. "It must run the length of the house!"

Helga walked forward and lifted a sheet. There was an old fashion couch underneath it. Another had a desk. There were also old suitcase, crates and cardboard boxes. More old furniture.

"I wonder how long some of this has been up here?" she wondered out loud. Looking around she saw a box labeled "Steven" and sat down and opened it. Looked like photo albums. Why would you hide these away? She opened them and saw a beautiful blonde woman holding a baby she guessed was Steven. She had a huge smile. She sort of looked a bit like Olga, but not quite at the same time. Turning the pages she saw photo after photo after photo of baby Steven growing up. The first album ended with his first birthday. Then she saw that they were labeled. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Glancing quickly she saw they seemed to be done in years. A whole year per album. Someone was snap happy. His father had been gorgeous, and even just looking at a picture of him smiling, made you smile back. Steven took after his father for sure.

At the bottom was a baby blanket, birth certificate, a small zip lock with baby hair, a container with . . . baby teeth? " _Yuck_ ", she said, holding it up for Arnold to see. Arnold made a face, then went back to his phone. Helga put it all back in the order she pulled it out in and moved onto an old fashioned trunk, and opened it. The first thing she smelt was that musty smell moth balls left behind. She saw a uniform and lifted it out. It was an old fashioned nurses uniform. Taking out the dress she saw there was also a pocket watch, and a red cape and hat. There was a journal with it. Inside was also a marriage certificate. Looks like one of his grandfathers married a British nurse who had cared for him and brought her back to America. As tempting as it was, Helga chose not to read the journal. She put it all back.

Another box she opened was full of encyclopedias. Another old books, some which Helga were pretty sure first editions.

"I'm heading back downstairs to his office," Arnold said suddenly. "I just can't get reception up here, for anything."

Helga watched as he went down the stairway, leaving her alone in the attic. She looked around, deciding not to bother looking around anymore tonight. Maybe another day.

. . .

Helga was more than a bit annoyed by the time the movie finished. Whenever she had been out with Arnold, he had never spent so much time on his phone. While they had watched a movie, he had spent the whole time almost on edge. Helga felt a stinging sensation in her eyes. _Stop being so greedy and selfish!_ a part of her mind was yelling at her. _But it's so hard when half the time you can't even get an answer out of him! another part whined._

"I'm going to go check for messages again," he said suddenly, getting up. "Be back in a minute."

"Are you waiting for something in particular?" Helga asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Grandma hasn't been too well," he told her. "I'm just worried."

Helga frowned. "Then why did you come over here if it was that bad?"

"It's not bad, Helga," he said. "I'm just making sure everything is okay. Just in case."

Helga nodded, but went back to watching the movie, while Arnold left. _Should have gone with Steven_ , she thought. _At least I could have had conversation!_

Arnold returned ten minutes later, and took his place by her on the couch.

"Everything alright?" she asked, without looking at him.

"Yeah, seems to be," he said, giving her a smile. She forced a smile back, but she wasn't happy.

. . .

"Helga," Arnold called, shaking her shoulder. She turned over and looked at him through bleary eyes.

"What?"

"I have to go," he said, urgency in his voice. "Grandpa sent me a message saying Grandma is going to hospital. That was two hours ago. Plus there's a weather warning for snow. Lot's of snow. I want to get going before it gets here."

Helga sat up and just nodded. She watched him grab his clothes that were on the floor, stuff them into his bag, and only dragged herself out of bed when he was going out the door. Arnold was a restless sleeper, and it had kept her awake most of the night. She tried to reason with her grumpy self that it could do with being in a room with only one escape, being somewhere new, but as she got tireder and tireder, it was getting harder and harder to excuse it. When they got to the front door, they shared a quick kiss and Helga told him she'd give him a call about his grandma. Arnold gave her one last kiss, then got into his car. Helga watched as he drove away.

She looked out at the light snow on the ground. Looks like she was going to be spending New Years alone. She went back inside and had breakfast, then decided to go have a look in all the other rooms in the house. Most of them looked the same. Big four poster beds, matching suites. They were stripped back to a single sheet over the matresses, with a plastic covering over the top, the drawers were empty with sheets covering them. She got bored after four rooms, and decided to move onto Olga and Steven's rooms.

Olga's was everything she expected, and she couldn't blame Steven for not wanting to sleep in there. It was very girly, with a white four poster, with pink canopy, her drawers were French Chic style with golden handles. Her mirror was huge and shaped like a heart. Helga walked over to have a look at the top. There were some pill bottles, perfume, and a tube of lipstick sitting on the top. Opening a top drawer she found her sisters make up and creams. She closed it, and went down. It was so strange. There was nothing seductive or racy in her sisters drawers at all. Nothing silky or sheer or lacy. Certainly nothing sexy. Helga sighed. She left the room, locking it behind her. She had been in Steven's room before, so instead made her way to the room she had tried when Arnold was there.

She inserted the key and entered.

It at first appeared like all the others, only with a lounge room as hers did. All the furniture was covered. But there were photos on the walls. Walking up to the wall she saw they were family photo's, once again, of Steven and his parents. Looking into the bedroom her eyes went wide. The headboard to the bed was of two carved horses, going in opposite directions, pawing the air. They weren't full body carvings. The eyes shone. At the foot of the bed was a small horse seat. Then she noticed there were photographs on the dressing table. Looking at them she saw they were pictures of the woman Helga guessed to be Steven's mother, horse riding. One of them she was on a horse with her son in front of her. Clearly the woman had loved horses.

And clearly this is where his parents had slept. She turned to leave and cried out from fright.

"Are you enjoying your nosey party?" Steven asked her, leaning against the door frame between lounge and bedroom. He was holding a shirt. Arnold's shirt. He held it up. "Who else has been snooping around the house?"

"No one," she lied, taking a step back. Jeez, of all the places to get caught snooping. Steven sighed.

"Don't lie to me, Helga," he said, walking in.

"It's my shirt!" she told him.

"Really? You wear Lynx and your name is Arnold, now?" he asked, smirking. "Is this what you have been planning? Sneaking your boyfriend over?"

Helga shook her head. "No."

"Really? Because that's what it looks like," Steven snapped at her. "I came home early feeling sorry for you being alone on New Years. If I'd known, I wouldn't have bothered."

"I'm sorry," Helga said.

"Just get out," he said, and Helga rushed past him and out into the hallway. Once there she turned to watch Steven walk out, downcast. He held his hands out for the keys, which she handed to him. He locked the door. "This was my parents room. All my parents valuables are still in there."

"Oh," she said, looking at the ground.

"If you go dress up warm, I was going to take you out for dinner," he said. "The storm is supposed to come in overnight. Your sister won't beat it."

Helga watched as he walked past her to his room and disappeared inside. Helga made her way to her room to get changed. She decided to have a quick shower first though. When she was finished she dried herself off, put on a matching set of underwear she had ready for . . . well, it didn't matter now. Arnold wasn't going to be there to see it. Finally she pulled out a dress, stockings and jacket, pairing it all with heeled boots. She just dried and brushed out her hair. She didn't bother with make up. When she was done, she threw her jacket on, and made her way downstairs. Steven was already there, dressed in a tux.

"Colin will drive us tonight," he told her, opening the door for her. When she passed through, and he came after her, he put his hand on the small of her back, and guided her down the stairs, and opened the car door for her, before going around the other side and getting in himself. Once they were settled, Steven let Colin know it was time to go.

. . .

In the small town near the beach, was a seafood restaurant. Helga watched as the pizza place Arnold had taken her to that summer day, whizzed past. She said nothing. She was still a bit disappointed with her time with him. He was so caught up in his phone. So different from when they were out together.

Colin drove them right up to the door, and then went off to park, Helga guessed. She later saw him in the restaurant as well, having dinner alone. When they were in, they were led straight to a table in a very quiet and private corner. Steven bought a bottle of wine for them both to share. They chose their dinner and poured glasses. Helga drank hers back faster than she should have. Steven raised his eyebrows.

"Don't get yourself too drunk," he told her. By the time their dinner was delivered, Helga was onto her third glass, and the bottle was empty. When asked if they would like another bottle, Steven shook his head. "Yes, the same thank-you."

They ate in silence, with Steven only asking her if her food was okay. She drank through a fourth glass of wine.

"So, are you going to tell me the truth?" he finally asked. Helga shook her head, feeling the most relaxed she had in ages, if not years. She watched Steven, who didn't have his phone on at all. Not once did he pull it out to look at. Not once did he give off the feeling that he would rather be anywhere but here. With her. Thinking of her attempted weekend with Arnold, her eyes started to sting. He didn't seem to want to be with her. Was it because they weren't having sex? Her mind started going back down that dark, dark tunnel she thought she had escaped. She felt a warm hand on hers. "Do you want to have dessert? Or would you like to leave?"

"Leave, please," she said quietly.

Steven took the last of the wine, then steadied Helga as she stood up. Her head swam. She shouldn't have drunken so much. Oh well. She leaned into Steven's side, as he led her out. He kept her steady as they waited for Colin to come around with the car. It took him a little bit, and Helga was feeling a bit cold, so she snuggled even closer to Steven.

He was so warm, and smelled so nice. So masculine . . .

She more fell into the car when he opened the door for her. She pushed herself up and back against the door. When Steven got in and settled, she pushed herself towards him, and was again leaning on him. He put his arm around her shoulders, and murmered his questions to her again.

"I've been sneaking out with Arnold," she admitted. "And I snuck him over, I know I shouldn't have, but . . ."

"Are you lonely living with me, Helga?" he asked. She nodded. They were quiet the rest of the ride. en they did get there, and out, Steven led her, not to her room, but to his. Once the door was closed he turned her to him and kissed her. She kissed him back, with as much passion as hew as kissing her with. He unzipped her dress and it dropped to the floor. He undid her bra more expertly than she could. He kissed down her neck, and pushed her towards his bed, where she fell backwawrds, and he leaned himself over her, moving his lips down her neck, over her bare breasts, sucking her nipples. It made her giggle, then laugh and push his head away, which caused him to look her in the face and smile, then go back to kissing her again. She didn't even try to resist, it just felt so good, even when he peeled off her stockings, her panties, and placed his lips down in her most intimate place, causing her to cry out a bit at the shock of pleasure. She could feel a tenseness building in her, beginning from her lower stomach, and eventually it ceased to be there and she cried out again, but this time it was because it was like an explosion, sending shocks to every nerve and tip of her body. She tried to wriggle away from him, but was stopped by him pulling himself back up, and kissing her. She seemed to sober up when she felt him push himself into her. She dug her fingers into the skin on his back. The pleasure was building again as he moved inside her. She wanted to tell him to stop, it was too intense, more intense than with Arnold. Steven was a man, and knew what he was doing, not a teenage boy who hadn't yet mastered himself, let alone another. She felt that explosion again. Ugh, it was so hot, and she felt sticky. But it was so good, she kissed him agressively, just wanting to feel all of him.

Why would Olga not want this every night? Want him beside her, in her? She felt herself building up agian, and this time just laid back, enjoying the rush of pleasure. moments later she felt him finish in her. The warmness of him spreading inside her. It twitched inside her again, and he brought his forehead down to hers. As she drifted off to her sleep, she barely registered the last words she heard him say.

"I'm not sharing you, Helga," he whispered.

. . .


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning the regret and shame set in. Helga rolled over and looked at the thick, dark, rich red curtains of Steven's room.

What the hell have I done? she wondered. She felt Steven move and closed her eyes, feeling him place his warm hand on her stomach.

"Are you awake?" he whispered in her ear. She pretended to be asleep. "I can wake you up."

"I'm awake," she said, rolling over to look at him. He kissed her, and she reluctantly kissed him back.

"Are you up for breakfast, or do you want it in bed?" he asked her, getting up and putting some pants on.

"I'll come down," she said. She watched him leave the room and then got up and left his room to go to hers. She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower full blast and got under it. She wanted to wash it all off. Wash him off. She started to cry in the shower. This couldn't happen again. Getting out she dried herself off and got herself dressed into sweatpants and a baggy shirt, and then just sat on her bed, feeling ashamed of herself. She felt tired, and her body ached. Was this a hangover? How drunk was she last night?

Ugh, no! She wasn't going to go down this path again. She was only just regaining her sense of self back. She wasn't going to lose herself again.

. . .

"I'm glad you got out of there before he got back."

Arnold turned to look at the tall blonde woman behind him.

"Do you really think she's in danger?" he asked.

Olga had shown up on his doorstep just after the Thanksgiving Party. She knew he had been there, and she chewed him out, but not for the reasons he would have thought. She was more concerned about what would have happened had Steven seen him there.

"I don't think she's in danger, but she's not in a safe place," Olga told him. "Steven gets what Steven wants, and Steven wants her. Just . . . be careful."

"What about you?" he asked.

Thinking back to that day she showed up on his doorstep with her warnings, and how she had eventually broken down, and told him that she had been hiding his letters to Arnold, but not from Helga. From Steven. The first letter she had missed, but Steven had found it. He was so angry that he tore it up and threw it in the wastebasket. From then on Olga would try to get the letters. She kept meaning to give them to Helga, but Steven had worked fast at playing the sisters off each other. Olga had been busy during those first weeks of Helga coming to live with them. Unfortunately it had given Steven time to convince her he was the good guy, and she was the bad. She could see almost instantly that Steven was taken with Helga, long before she came to stay with them. He saw her intelligence, and he was attracted to intelligent woman. And Helga had always been a bit beyond her years. She had found the two of them one day debating over some book they had read. She could see then that he was enamored with Helga, but she was only twelve at the time. She never invited Helga to their place, cause she had always been worried that Steven might find a way to turn her against her parents, and convince her that she should live with them. He would have had his hands on her earlier, and molded her into what he wanted. A smart, intelligent woman, who could still be controlled and do as he says. Someone he could show off, but still keep all to himself. He thought he had found it in Olga, but she had heard him confess to Colin one night, that she was a little too dim. But her sister made up for that.

She had realized a little too late that Steven was a master manipulator. You didn't even realize you were being manipulated, and often no one else could see it.

Arnold and she had come up with a way for her to sneak off without Steven catching her. She had his number in her phone under "Lila 2", so if Steven ever looked through her contacts he would just assume, she hoped, that she had another number for Lila. If he was coming, she would warn him with a text message. So far it had worked out. Now it was just planning an escape for Helga. She had already worked things out, behind the scenes, with Arnold's grandparents. She was the sole carer for Helga. Her parents had known better than to put Steven down as well. So when it came to guardianship of her, Olga was in complete control. Talking over it with Arnold's family, they agreed to take her on. But they couldn't go to the police. Not yet. There was something else that bothered Olga, but she needed to gather evidence.

Cally had been such a nice person. But she was also an employee. Who knew too much, Olga suspected. Olga had started getting suspect when Steven let the police roam anywhere in the house. He was a little too compliant in her opinion. And he just decided one day to have cameras in the maze? He hadn't even told _her_ about that! She had let this all spill out to Arnold. Which is why she had desperately texted him, telling him to stay close to the office. Steven had turned off the phone, but Olga had turned on the wifi and let Arnold know the password. He had been on his phone non stop. And while Helga was in the attic, he used a key Olga had left him to go into Steven's room and look around. And also in his office.

He hadn't found anything. So either Olga was paranoid.

Or Steven was smart.

Either way, in Arnold's mind, Helga was in danger.

. . .

When Helga got downstairs she saw the Steven was in his office. He waved her in. She walked in and slumped down in the chair in front of his desk.

"Your sister wants to talk to you," he said. "The lines not good, so be quick." Helga took the phone from him.

"Olga," she said coldly.

"Are you sleeping with him?" she asked straight out. "I'm not mad. Just . . . top drawer, run your fingers under the top of the dresser top. There's some ECP's. And a box of contraception. Don't let him find them, don't let him catch you using it."

"Olga, whats-"

"Emergency contraceptive pill. Just listen to me, Helga," her sister hurriedly continued. "Do what he says, act submissive, don't heckle him or annoy him."

"What's go-"

"Put Steven back on the phone and go."

Helga handed the phone back to Steven. "I'm going upstairs."

Steven got back on the phone with Olga, watching as Helga walked out. Helga was hoping Olga would keep him busy long enough for her to make it upstairs and do what Olga had told her to. She hurried up the stairs and into her sisters room as quickly as possible and went straight to the drawer here sister had mentioned, following directions. It unlatched and out came two containers. Helga opened the first one to see it was the ECP Olga had been talking about, which meant the other one was the contraception. Why did Olga have contraception medication if she didn't . . . it struck Helga like a lightening bolt. Olga hadn't had any operation. She was just making sure she never got pregnant! But then, why did Steven tell her she did? She quickly put the boxes in her pocket and went to her own room, going into her own bathroom and putting them in a drawer, after removing an ecp and popping it. She hoped it worked. She went back into her bedroom and sat down on her bed and just stared at herself in the mirror, trying to make sense of the phone call. About five minutes later, Steven came up to her room.

"Phones down," he told her, sitting next to her. He kissed her neck. "God, I can't get enough of you." He turned her face to his so she couldn't help but kiss him. Her sisters words kept ringing in her head. 'Do what he says, act submissive,' even thought every cell in her body wanted her to push him away and run from the house screaming. As he pushed her down onto her back, and continued his work on her, she briefly considered the idea of running. But one look out her window told her that that was not an option. It was just white, but dark out there. _'Give in for now, and enjoy it,_ ' her head said. ' _It does feel good, doesn't it?_ '

Why make it uneccersarily hard on herself? If she was going to be stuck under a man she didn't love, but still enjoyed, she may as well make the best of it.

Right?

. . .

Arnold seethed silently inside. He should have just ignored Olga's advice of leaving Helga there and brought her back with him. Screw Steven. So what if he had shown up and Helga was gone? But Olga had convinced him that it would've made things worse. For all of them. But the idea of that . . . that creature, touching Helga, being alone and near her made him sick! And angry.

"Were you and Helga always safe?" Olga asked. Arnold nodded. Yep. They had been safe. He wasn't stupid, and neither was Helga. Plus both were never sure what would happen to a baby if they made one. Helga had once expressed fear that her sister and Steven may try to take it from her. "Well, that's good. I don't think Steven would want to raise another mans child. He wants one of his own."

"Is that what he wants Helga for?" Arnold demanded. "A baby machine?"

Olga shook her head. "No. No, he decided one Helga the moment he met her. Before she could make babies. No, her womb is just an added bonus. Helga is like what his mother was. Blonde, pretty, smart and intelligent, had a streak running through her that only his father could tame. From the way he described her, she sounded very much like Helga. I don't even know if when he looks at her, that's who he sees. He thought I was those things. But I'm not. I don't have that iron rod running down my back like Helga does, or that ability to run wild, speak my mind, not caring what others thought."

Arnold was looking at Olga with some awe. It was in her voice. She admired Helga. A lot.

"When he met Helga, for him it would have been like meeting his mother again, only in a different, much younger body," she told him. "He loved his mother. He would speak of her so often, his father however . . . he didn't like his father, but from what Steven has had, I think it was jealousy, more than anything. He wanted his mother to himself, but couldn't. He had to share. And he's not a man to share. Don't get me wrong, he's very generous with things, and money, but not _his_ women."

. . .

The next day there was sun. Helga sat up and looked out the window. It had stopped snowing, but the snow was high. Before she could sneak out of bed, Steven dragged her back down, pinning her down by leaning over her.

"Where do you think your going?" he asked against her cheek. She shivered. No wonder Olga let him have other woman. It was all she probably could have done to get any freedom at all! She had this horrible thought of him keeping her chained to his bed as a sex slave, because that was what she was beginning to feel like. He hadn't even let her have a shower on her own! One thing she had learned for sure was that she did not like him in her mouth! It was the most horrible feeling to her, and she felt so ashamed and degraded afterwards. Steven had laughed at her when she had chocked and gagged, informing her she would get used to it. But she did pretty well for her first time.

 _The hell i will!_ she thought angrily and defiantly. _And sure,_ first _time . . ._

It wasn't her first time. Arnold was her first time, though she didn't let him know that. It was strange that she was fine with doing it with Arnold, yet repulsed and disgusted at doing it to Steven. Even though she did enjoy the rest of what he did, that was one thing she didn't.

A beeping from his pocket made him sigh and stop what he was doing. Helga sighed with relief, though Steven mistook it for disappointment. "I'll be back in a minute."

He got up, throwing on his boxers and a singlet, then left the room. Helga laid there, taking a deep breath, trying to think of how she was going to get out of this with him. If today was going to be anything like yesterday . . . she sat up, deciding the best course of action was a quick shower before he got back and getting dressed.

She dressed in her warmest gear, hoping to go out for a walk. She needed to get outside and clear her head and think. She needed to get away from Steven! He was acting how she imagined teen boys must act like when they first discover sex. Only she was there for him to use, rather than something else. Like a sock or their bare hands. Helga laughed at the image of Steven with a sock on his erect penis.

"What's so funny?" she heard him ask from behind her, She turned and gave him a coy smile.

"You with a sock on your banger," she told him, laughing again.

"A sock?" he asked, looking confused. It just made Helga laugh harder. Steven gave her a wry smile. "I don't need a sock, when I have you."

"Well, you'll have to wait a bit longer, because I am going outside for a walk," she said. "I need some fresh air."

"Well, don;t be too long," he warned her. "Your sister is coming home. Are you sure you want to go now?"

"I'm sure," she said nodding. Steven sighed.

"We won't have as much time alone now," he said, as if to warn her.

"Where there's a will, there's a way," she told him with a smile.

. . .

Helga walked around, making her way to the tree that would take her over the fence and away to freedom. She smiled remembering the day she used it to sneak off with Arnold to the beach. Sighing, she turned away, but stopped when she saw a rock in the snow. It had been placed there recently, because it wasn't covered. Her heart thumping, she walked over to it and picked it up. A letter. From Arnold? Opening it quickly she read over the contents.

 _Your sister is on our side.  
She's explained everything.  
I love you. See you soon.  
Arnold._

Helga looked up quickly, and moved closer to the trees to see if maybe he was still there. Had he seen her wandering about? She looked back at the house and saw her sister waving out to her. She took one last look into the trees then tucked the letter in her pocket and made her way back.

. . .

That night, after they had retired, Steven had come to Helga's room, and practically dragged her into his.

"Your room just doesn't get me in that mood," he told her when she protested. "Too girly. Throws me off."

Oh, he knew her buttons alright. Quietly they snuck to his room, where he threw her over his shoulder, and dumped her onto her back on his bed, and before she could regain her breath, kissed her, letting his hands roam all over her body. Helga fell back, letting him do as he wished. He was good at what he was doing, and she kind of hated the fact that she enjoyed it so much. Did she really need love? Steven could give her romance, easily enough. And he definately gave her pleasure. She tried to stop thinking, and just enjoy the sensations, and was starting to respond when they heard knocking on his outer door.

"Steven," they heard Olga call through the door. "Are you up?"

"Oh, I'm up alright," he said, quickly giving Helga a rough kiss. He called out that he'd be there in just a minute. Helga sat up and looked around. As he left the bedroom she put herself in his closet, sitting down on the floor. She could hear him and her sister in the room. She pulled a container out from under her butt, and the lid came off, spilling it's contents onto the floor. When she heard them leave the room, she cracked the closet door open a bit, to let the light in. It was random bits of jewellery, earrings, a couple of charms, a necklace . . . the charms got her attention. Or rather, one charm in particular. Picking it up, she looked it over. Something in the back of her mind started flashing. She sat there quietly. It was important, she knew, but what . . .

 _"Isn't it beautiful?" Sheena asked, showing off her charm bracelet. "My mum brought me this owl for my birthday. Look, she got my name engrave on it. You pop open the owls head . . ."_

Helga had been standing next to her as she showed it off. Their lockers were next to each other. Rhonda had told it was probably a cheap knock off. Helga had called her jealous and told her to shut up, then told Sheena it was beautiful. Sheena had smiled gratefully at her.

Helga's heart was thumping, and it felt like it was in her throat as she hit the small clip that would open the owls head. When she looked inside she smothered her cry and dropped it. Sheena's name was engraved on the inside. She felt suddenly like she was going to spew.

Was Steven the real killer?

She put everything back into the container and then pushed her way out of the closet and heaved. Staggering she made her way to his lounge area, before falling to her knees. If he as, then was Cally an accomplice? She got to her feet again, and made her way out of the room.

. . .

She had fallen asleep on the floor, leaning against the door. At some point she had fallen onto her side, but hadn't woken up. It was Steven knocking on her door that jolted her awake. Without thinking she got up and opened the door.

"Why did you come back here?" he asked, coming and closing the door behind him. Then he swept her up and kissed her.

"I was scared Olga might come in," she lied, pulling away from him. "That was too close."

"Tell me about it," he said.

"I need to have a bath, I ache," she told him.

"Your not already pregnant to that boy, are you?" Steven growled. Helga shook her head.

"No, he always used protection with me," she said. She glared at him. "Unlike someone else."

Steven smiled and shrugged. "What's the worse that could happen?"

"A baby," she snapped, entering her bathroom and locking the door behind her. She turned on the shower and undressed, then looked at her panties in dismay. "Really?"

She opened the drawer and took out a tampon and a pad. Between the aching and the headache forming, she knew her period was on it's way. She prepped her knickers and stepped into the shower, trying to think of what to do next. She wondered if perhaps she had just dreamed that incident in Steven's closet. Had he really done that to those girls? To Sheena? Did he frame Cally and her boyfriend somehow? Was her sister in on the whole thing as well? So many questions were running through her head, that she didn't notice when Steven came in and picked up the box of contraception pills from the drawer. It wasn't until he spoke, that she realized she wasn't alone.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded. Helga almost slipped over, but managed to catch herself before she fell.

"What?" she asked. She saw Steven holding up the box. _Oh, shit_! she thought. She hadn't hidden them. She hadn't had the time.

"Where did you get them?" he asked again, in a much lower, more threatening voice. She shook her head. "Your sister? Of course, who else but that jealous bitch!"

Helga shut of the shower, and grabbed her towel. She threw on the closest thing she could find, which was just a short silk night-slip, and pulled on her underwear, then left her room. She heard the yelling going on before she even got to the hallway.

"Your jealous old bitch!" Steven screamed in her sisters face. Helga stood frozen to the spot. "You couldn't stand it, could you? Helga finally beating you at something, anything! Even children!"

"Your just as old, you pig!" Olga screamed back. She looked at Helga. "Run, don't just stand there, run!"


	17. Chapter 17

Helga did as her sister yelled at her to do.

"To the gate, to the gate!" her sister screamed.

"No, Helga don't!" Steven shouted, desperate. "Stop!"

But she didn't. Olga got in his way when he went to lunge at her. She practically flew down the stairs, and as she got to the bottom, she heard a short scream and then a thumping and banging noise. She paused to look back and wished she hadn't. She saw as her sister came to rest at the bottom of the stairs, eyes wide, mouth open, head twisted at an unnatural angle. Helga looked up and saw Steven coming down the stairs, not even looking at Olga who was lying there, clearly dead. She pulled open the door and ran out into the snow in the flismy nightie and barefoot. But she didn't stop, even when she heard Steven screaming for her to come back. Had he pushed her down the stairs? Her heart started to ache. Where would she go? She stopped for a brief second and looked around her. She should have grabbed car keys, but she hadn't known. She had to get to the gate at least? Maybe Olga had left her the car? No, she couldn't see her sisters car there. She hesitated a moment, before charging on. Her sister wouldn't set her wrong, would she?

She had so many doubt running through her head. Her feet were freezing, and she could feel her nose starting to block up already. She was going to pay dearly for this, she knew. She could still hear Steven calling out her name. She risked a glance back and saw he was making much better ground than she was. She charged ahead a bit faster, but she was cold and tired. She wasn't going to make it! Would Steven kill her too? She started to cry. No, no! Don't cry, don't cry! Your going to make it, you can make it! She looked up, she was so close . . .

"Noooo!" she heard Steven wail behind her. "Helga stop, come back!"

But she didn't. She kept on running before stumbling. Falling face first into the snow, she pushed herself up just as she felt arms pick her up. She screamed and went to pull away, only to see it was Arnold!

"She's mine, she belongs to me!" Steven was yelling.

"Just keep going," Arnold told her, pulling her along. Her feet were so cold, and it was spreading. Her nighty was cold and damp now after the fall. Arnold pushed her through the gate and came after her, pulling it behind him. Steven banged into it, screaming Helga's name.

"We can talk about this, please Helga, please, I love you, come back," he was saying desperately, reaching through the gate. Helga felt a pang, but Arnold turned her towards the road and led her down, running before Steven could get the gate open and chase them.

Arnold pulled open the back door of the green Packard, pushing her in first, then getting in himself.

"Drive Grandpa!" he shouted, just as Steven banged into the back of the car, screaming Helga's name. "Don't look back Helga, just don't."

They pulled away and Steven ran after the car a bit, before turning and heading back up the driveway.

Helga had started to hyperventilate. Her lips were purple, and she was shivering.

"We need to get the girl to the hospital, Arnold," Phil said. "She's not looking to good."

Arnold pulled off his thick coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, and pulled her into him. Then realized she was saying something over and over.

"He pushed her, he pushed her, he pushed her . . ." she was repeating over and over and shuddering each time.

"He pushed her? Who, Olga?" Arnold asked. Helga just let out a moan, covered her face and started to cry hard. Arnold just kept his arms around her, not asking anymore questions. She was a mess. There was something so devastating about a girl who had once been so strong, be so broken.

. . .

"We do need to keep her in for observation," the nurse said. "The police are also here to speak to you both."

Arnold sat holding Helga's hand. She was asleep. She was just very cold when she was brought in. Quietly he got up and went out to see the waiting policemen. He pulled out an envelope from his pocket. It was something Olga had written in case something happened to her. Should he need he had something to give to the police for her.

"Arnold . . . um, sorry, it's smudged . . ." the younger policeman said, looking at his partner sheepishly. "Your Arnold?" Arnold nodded.

"We need to ask you a few questions and clear some things up," the older one said gruffly. "According to what we have been told, Miss Pataki pushed her older sister down the stairs, resulting in her sisters death."

Arnold's mouth dropped. Olga was dead?

"No that's not what would have happened," he told them. "When Helga was in the car with me she kept saying he pushed her."

"He being her brother-in-law, Steven Stonefield?" the younger one asked.

"Yeah," Arnold said.

"What makes you so sure?" the older one asked. Arnold handed the letter to him.

"Olga wrote this, in case something happened to her," he explained. "He was . . . using Helga."

"For what?" the younger one asked. The older one started to frown.

"Sex."

The younger one eyes went wide, and the older one frowned more. "Are you claiming he raped her?"

"I guess, I don't really know what was going on," he admitted. "She wasn't really making much sense."

"Make sure there is a social worker with us when we talk to her," the older cop said to the nurse.

"If I can get one-"

"You will."

The nurse nodded and went off to make a phone call.

. . .

When she awoke, she looked and saw Arnold was sleeping in a chair. She looked to see she was hooked up to monitors, and was in a hospital gown. She stared up at the ceiling. _What happened?_ she asked herself. Closing her eyes she saw the image of her sister lying at the bottom of those grand stairs, twisted, broken. Dead. She gasped and sobbed, waking Arnold from his slumber.

"Helga, it's okay," he said, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips.

"He pushed her, Arnold, he pushed her down the stairs," she sobbed.

"I know," he said, rubbing her hand. He grabbed the ringer and pushed the button to call a nurse to come in. When she saw she was awake, she went off, then came back ten minutes later with a doctor. Arnold looked up to see that she wasn't just any doctor. And she looked familiar. Older, with grey streaks in her jet black hair.

"Doctor Bliss?" Helga asked.

"Hello, Helga," she said, calmly walking in and taking a seat. "I hear you've had an interesting time of it over the last year."

Helga didn't say anything, she just began to cry. Arnold watched Dr. Bliss, who just sat there, observing her, not moving to comfort her at all, except to pass her a tissue.

"Can't you say something to make her stop?" Arnold asked. She just smiled at him and shook her head.

"This is something she needs to do first," she told him. "When she's ready, she will stop and we will talk. Alone."

"I can't stay?" he asked. Dr. Bliss shook her head.

"I'd say it's better that you don't hear what she has to say just yet," she explained. "Plus I need her to be completely open, and she may not be with you here."

"Please, Arnold, just go," Helga said quietly. "I'll be fine."

Arnold looked between the two women, before sighing and leaving the room. It was an hour before Dr. Bliss came out of the room, looking concerned and troubled. She gave him a small smile, then went to one of the nurses to talk quietly. Arnold tried to listen to what was being said, but just couldn't quite hear it. About twenty minutes later the policemen arrived and Dr. Bliss came to greet them and take them to another room.

While that was all going on he saw a familiar man walking down the hallway towards the nurses station. Arnold got up and went to block his way.

"I'n here to see my sister-in-law, Helga Pataki," he said to the nurse behind the counter.

"And you are?" the nurse asked.

"A rapist and a killer," Arnold said. The nurse looked up at him. "You pushed Olga down the stairs and killed her, then you tried to blame Helga, and now you have the cheek to come here?"

Dr. Bliss and the policemen came out of the room they had gone into. "Are you Steven, Helga's brother-in-law?" she asked.

Steven and Arnold continued to glare at each other.

"You have no right to tell me I can't see her," he said, completely ignoring Dr. Bliss and the police officers.

"No, but I do," Phil said, coming up behind him. Steven turned to see him and a hospital social worker standing with him. "Olga transferred guardianship to me and Pookie."

"What?" he asked, stunned.

"Yeah, Olga didn't trust you either," Arnold said, smirking.

"You can't do this," he said, looking like someone who had been punched in the stomach. "You can't take her away from me."

"Get security," Dr. Bliss told the nurse. "This isn't going to be pretty."

"Helga!" he called out. "I'm sorry! Come back!"

The police officers moved forward, and security came up behind them.

"You can't take her away from me, she's mine!" he yelled, yanking himself away from the officer holding him. "Helga I love you! I love you!" One of the security guards tripped him, and the policemen kneeled on his back as he continued to call out to Helga. Once he was cuffed he was dragged out. Dr. Bliss went straight into Helga's room. Arnold followed behind and looked in. His heart broke at the sight of Helga crying so hard, and seemingly starting to hyperventilate again.

"I need a sedative!" Dr. Bliss called out the door. A nurse disappeared, then returned with a full needle. She entered the room and closed the door, blocking off Arnold's view.

"She's going to need a lot of help," Phil told his grandson, coming up and resting a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to take her time to heal. He did a number on her, that's for sure."

"You know what happened?" Arnold asked. Phil nodded, looking sad.

"Might be best if you take a step back for a while, Shortman," he said. "I'm not too sure we're going to be equipped to deal with the help she will need."

. . .

Helga told Dr. Bliss about what had been happening. From beginning to end.

For a while Dr. Bliss just sat there, letting it all soak in. This was over and above her. She bit her lip. Helga seemed almost confused about everything. What she described was rape, yet Helga didn't seem to understand that or put it down to that.

"How can it be rape, when I didn't say no?" she asked. "And I liked it . . . I don't . . ."

Dr. Bliss felt bad for her. Eventually Helga just clammed up, and Dr. Bliss gave up and left her alone for a bit. She walked past Arnold, giving him a small smile, before letting the nurse know that she was ready to talk to the police. This wasn't going to be clean cut for them, and they weren't going to like it. She often felt bad for the police. They would work so hard to catch a guy, to put bad people away, and so often those very people they were out to stop would just walk away. She'd known some who had either quit, or finally just lost their rag one day on the job.

When the police came back, she brought up the topic of the container Helga said she had found.

"We have a team over there now, investigating," they told her. She nodded. "Now, about this rape allegation?"

"I'm not sure how it will stick," Dr. Bliss. "She's . . . it's very complicated. She doesn't seem to see it that way."

The older cop shook his head. "I see this a lot. Just make sure she doesn't go walking back to him."

No one wanted that. She looked at her watch, wondering where the social worker was when they heard the kerfuffle outside. The three of them got up and went out into the hallway. "Are you Steven, Helga's brother-in-law?" she asked. The man ignored her continuing to stare down Arnold. She could see the man getting wound up, and wanted him out before it got too messy and possibly violent, especially when she saw also that Arnold was flexing his hands, putting them in and out of a fist formation. He didn't even seem to be aware he was doing it. She had to intervene. "Get security, this isn't going to be pretty," she told the nurse, who got right on the phone, nervously watching what was happening. The police stepped forward first, taking hold of his arm and trying to move him on. Then he did exactly what Dr. Bliss was afraid he'd do.

He addressed Helga personally.

Once the police had him under control and out of range, she rushed into the room Helga was in to see her going into the full blown panic attack. She was struggling to breath. Dr. Bliss grabbed her hands, calling for a sedative. The nurse came back a moment, closing the door behind her, and injected the sedative into the IV line. It took a moment but Helga finally started to calm down, and Dr. Bliss continued to try to talk her down from the attack. When Helga fell back against the bed and just cried she turned to the nurse.

"Place her in the psychiatric ward for observation," she said. "I want someone with her at all times."

. . .

"So basically, until she straight up makes a formal complaint of rape, there's nothing we can do but put a protection order in place, and tresspass him from the hospital and Boarding House," the policeman told them. "I'm sorry."

"What about the container?" Arnold asked.

"His employee Colin came forward to confess he hid them in there when he realized his rooms could be searched," he told them with a shrug. "Until we get evidence that he was involved, with a confession from someone else, we can't do anything about that either. I'm really sorry."

"You don't think it's strange that first his-"

"We can't do anything kid, not without evidence," he said. "And don't you go out of your way to find any. Just stay away from the man."

"So he could walk away from it all?" Arnold demanded. "He kept her prisoner, raped her, maybe murdered girls-"

"And until something shows up that could prove that, we can't do anything, which is why we're telling you to stay away from him," the policeman told him firmly. "I don't want to be finding you dead in a ditch somewhere."

Arnold sat back, feeling completely helpless and useless. He wasn't able to go in and see Helga. Steven could walk away from all these charges because of the mental and emotional state Helga was in. He buried his head in his hands.

"Look, you just concentrate on getting yourself finished at school," Phil said. "We can handle the rest. You need that education."

"Grandpa, how can I even-"

"You want to add to the poor girls trauma?" he asked. "She's feeling bad enough right now. Imagine how much worse she will feel if you turn around and blow all your hard work. Because of her. She'll blame herself for that. She's blaming herself for enough as it is."

. . .

Helga sat on the bed, looking at the floor. She knew the nurse who was with her was watching her to make sure she didn't hurt herself. She laid back. Trapped again, she thought. It seemed like she could never escape from anywhere . . .

"Nurse, can I have a word?" another nurse asked. The other one gave Helga a quick look, then went just outside the door. Helga got up to listen.

"This was to be passed on to Helga, but I'm not sure it should be."

"Take it to Dr. Forore. He'll read it and decide himself."

"Okay then."

The nurse almost bumped into Helga as she came in the door.

"What was it?" she asked.

"A letter," the nurse told her. "Your psychiatrist will read it over, and decide if you should read it as well."

"Shouldn't that be my choice?" she demanded.

"You're not the one who needs to clean up the mess," the nurse told her. "Now, are you feeling crafty?"

"No, I'm not feeling crafty," Helga snapped. "I want to leave. Now!"

"When your doctor says your ready, you can," she told her. "Until then, you just have to put up with it."

Helga glared at the woman. "This is a joke, I'm not crazy."

"No, but you do pose a risk to yourself," the nurse said, going back to her book. "Besides, from what I understand, you're much safer in here than out there."

Helga couldn't fault that logic. She sat down again. The nurse sighed.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the craft room or something?" she asked, clearly fed up with looking at four walls. Helga smiled at her sweetly, just so the nurse would know she was doing this to spite her.

"No, I'm good," she said cheerily. "I'm used to being locked up."


	18. Chapter 18

Over the next couple of weeks the police interviewed friends and acquaintances of both Steven and Olga. Steven had hired what Helga's lawyer called a "Bulldog in court". They talked to Lila and her father. They had already spoken to Arnold. At an initial hearing Helga stumbled. When asked did she actually see Steven push her sister down the stairs, she had to admit that she hasn't seen it happen, but pointed out that Steven tried to blame her. When Steven was asked he said he hadn't seen Olga get pushed or even fall. Her and Helga had years of what he called " issues" with each other. He was upset that his wife had died, and had assumed Helga had done it.

When questioned about the bars on the windows he brought up the whole incident that ended with Helga's hospital stay, but made it sound like some suicide attempt."It was for her own safty." A report that was written up at the confirmed that Helga had been in a distressed and agitated state.

"So basically they're making me out to be crazy?" she asked her lawyer.

"Troubled," he said. "Not crazy."

Next came the part of rape. It was made murky when excerpts of Helga's diary was read out, and the fact that it wasn't until after she had been "evaluated" that she had deemed it rape. Before that it appeared consensual. Helga wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. She chanced a look towards Arnold who looked hurt by what he was hearing. She was above the age of consent in the state and by her own admission hadn't view it as rape. Her lawyer tried to object on the grounds that that information shared was taken the day she had arrived at the hospital. Steven's lawyer asked what had changed since? They had been lead into a trap. Steven's lawyer argued that the idea had been put in her head.

Dr. Bliss cursed to herself. Helga's lawyer saw it coming and refered to the psychological assessments of emotional and mental abuse. How the isolation would have affected her. He tried everything.

And still, Steven's lawyer had a return argument that made it seem logical. The distance of the house from the nearest school, the way the area is cut off during winter months, lack of a drivers licence . . .

The judge decided to take a break.

"It's not going well, is it?" Phil asked. Helga's lawyer shook his head.

"What about the letters Olga wrote?" Arnold asked, "surely the would help."

"Not in this case, no," he said. "Olga talks about how close Steven and Helga became," he told them. "It reads like a jealous, malicious attempt by a spurned wife to ruin her husbands character. It would do more harm than good."

"And nothing can be done about what Helga found?" Arnold asked. The lawyer shook his head. "Why not?"

"Because Colin confessed. And besides, this isn't about that, so bringing it up won't help either."

They were all quiet.

"What about what Lila and I told them?" Arnold asked.

"I guess we'll see when your called to the stand."

. . .

It didn't get better. Lila was ripped to shreds by Steven's defence lawyer. She had never seen anything untoward. She was grilled about having snuck Arnold to the Thanksgiving Party. In the end she was made out to look like a bored teenager out for kicks. She was left more than a little shell shocked by it all. Arnold and Helga's relationship was made to look absolutely ridiculous. A kind of Romeo-Juliet game of sorts.

When it came to Arnold, it wasn't much better. He was going by what Helga had told him - why would she tell him anything different. Then he really put his foot in it when he brought up the night Helga broke down and told him everything.

"So by your testimony, even at that early stage Helga was emotionally distressed and unstable?"

"Objection your honor!" Helga's lawyer shouted, jumping up so fast Helga jumped. "He's asking for a psychological assessment that the witness is not qualified to give."

"Agreed, sustained," the Judge ruled. Helga's lawyer sat down and glanced quickly at the Jury. He could see the damage was done. He was going to have to work hard to convince them this was a serious case of emotional and mental abuse, as well as sexual.

It all started to fall apart badly when they called in people who had been at the parties.

Helga seemed to have an attitude. Or Helga was seen as shy and quiet and not sociable. One of Olga's friends mentioned the Olga has been worried about her sisters mental health and had been considering having her assessed. She wasn't the only one, either. Helga was described as seemingly depressed. A worker told of how he had heard an argument between the sisters the morning of the night Helga had fallen from the roof. Other temporary employees told of arguments between the sisters. Colin's testimony was the most damaging.

But never of any arguments between Helga and Steven. No one witnessed anything or saw anything that made it seem like he was danger to Helga. Just the opposite.

"I can't believe this," Helga sobbed. "How can they use Colin's testimony?"

Her lawyer shook his head. "His case is completely separate from this case. Besides, he has pleaded guilty. As far as everyone's concerned that's done."

"Well, can't they know that?" Arnold demanded. Helga had slumped down on a bench. This was horrible. Poor Lila had left in tears, her father glaring their way, and making it completely obvious he blamed them for the state his daughter was in.

The older policeman who had been there at the hospital came over. He had been asked to speak as well. He had done his best, but he had felt pretty useless.

"I'm sorry we couldn't help more," he said to Helga. "It's hard. I can see he's guilty, but I have years of experience behind me. It's ridiculous getting unqualified people to judge. They hear, they don't see. They're not out there picking up the pieces."

Helga just nodded.

"You hang in there, kid," he said.

"Can't you do anything now?" Arnold asked.

"No. It's in the hands of investigators. If we do anything, we're done for harrassment," he explained.

"Thank you," Helga whispered.

"Looks like we're going back in. Jury's made their decision."

Helga took a deep breath, feeling faint and scared.

. . .

Helga couldn't believe that he had been found not guilty. Of everything. The people around her seemed more upset about everything than she was though. She felt pretty numb to it all. Arnold was angry and frustrated and went to his room, slamming the door behind him. They could all hear him yelling and throwing things about.

Helga went to her room as well, and just sat there thinking about everything. What a mess. The toll it had taken on Arnold's grandparents . . . she looked up to see that Phil was looking older than she had ever seen him. She put it down to being less about her though, and more about the effects it had all had on Arnold.

Who hadn't spoken to her. At all.

What had she done? She should have just run away. Held out until she got her money then just gone.

 _Steven never would have let you go_ ,' she thought. She knew he wouldn't have. Dr. Bliss came over and touched her arm.

"I'm going to take you back to the clinic," she told her softly. Helga stood up silently, taking one last look up the stairs, before leaving the Boarding House with her.

. . .

Arnold was angry. He was angry at Olga, Angry at Steven, angry at Helga. Angry with the police, the lawyers, the jurers, everyone! How could they just let him go? He picked up his waste basket and threw it at the wall, yelling out his frustration. Having to hear about Helga's developing crush on Steven had been the worst. Then everything afterwards. She'd enjoyed it. Enjoyed it! How could you enjoy something like that? How? he just couldn't understand it. Eventually he sat on the floor leaning against his bed. He wasn't just angry.

He was also heartbroken.

. . .

It was amazing what money could buy.

Steven stood in the room that Helga had occupied. How had it gone wrong? He walked over to her bed, where she had left a top and picked it up, holding it to his face and inhaling her scent. He sat down on the bed. He was alone in this big house, just as he was after his parents had died. First he had lost them, then Olga and Helga. Even Colin. Colin for God's sake! They had been friends since they were both boys. He knew he may have gotten off with the charges laid against him with Helga. But the ones that were going to be laid against him in regards to helping Colin cover up his crimes by keeping quiet about what he knew? Or at the least suspected . . .

He sat back and thought about the day Helga had run from the house. He hadn't pushed Olga, she had tripped while turning to go down the stairs. All he could guess was that she had missed a step, and it had been mere seconds after Helga flew past her, knocking both their balances. It was a blur because all he could see was Helga fleeing just as . . . just as . . .

Just as his mother had, all those years ago. She'd been wearing a long negligee, though, and it had been summer. His parents had fought, his mother had run out, his father going after her. He had no idea what happened . . .

No he did. He knew.

His father shot his mother, then himself, seemingly forgetting that they had a son there. His mother had been having an affair. But his father had many. Yet somehow, somehow it was different. He had let Olga know that he was fine with her having an affair, if she would let him have one himself. She'd agreed. This came about after she would complain that all he ever wanted to do was have sex. When he found she was, it hadn't bothered him at all.

But when he found that first letter to Helga from Arnold . . . something in him rose dark and ugly. He liked Helga. He knew she had had a crush on this boy since childhood. Olga had told him about it once. He had never said anything to Helga about what he knew, knowing it would embarrass the poor girl. When he first met her, he had gotten into a debate with her about theories that even he struggled with. But she seemed to know what she was talking about, and she had impressed him with her intelligence.

Something Olga lacked, for all she was accomplished and pretty.

Helga had so many different layers to her. She could be graceful and polite. Had taught herself another language to the point of being fluent, which had impressed him even more. But at the same time he was there the days she would walk in covered in mud from a football game, or dust from a baseball game. Or a bruise from a puck during a hockey game, or sweaty and red from a basketball game. And yet, she could recite Shakespere, dance ballet and jazz. And the one time she showed him how to tango. He smiled at the memory. Olga and her parents had sat back laughing at Helga taking the lead. That was all in the early years. Then something changed when she got to High School. No more did she come home muddy, dusty, bruised and sweaty. He often didn't see her at all, unless it was at the dinner table. Her parents would ask what she had done at school. She'd reply with one word answers. He'd ask about her classes, try to draw more information from her, and it would work. She'd open up to him with her day, while Miriam fawned over Olga, and Bob shoveled his food in. It was during those times when he started to realize he was feeling more than brotherly affection.

She was what he wanted in a woman. He had looked at her sister that night, three months before their parents death. Olga was so shallow, he could see his reflection. Helga was deep though, and he paid as much attention to her as possible. With in reason. Why hadn't Helga been older and he had met her? When he found out about her unrequited love for a boy named Arnold, he couldn't understand it. Clearly the boy was stupid, and didn't deserve someone like Helga. He still didn't. Steven had taken great delight at the emotions that played over the boys face when Helga's diary entries about him and what they were doing were read. He could see every word was like a whip striking the boy. It had certainly helped his cause. He had hoped that without the boy in the picture, and over time, he could win her to his side, convince her to leave her sister behind and be with him. He could divorce Olga, and marry Helga down the track.

And if it hadn't been for Olga inviting Lila to that party, he would have done it. He knows he could have. He was. Helga hated her sister, she was becoming reliant on Steven. And her sisters display of rage that day they caught Arnold and Helga riding back to the house. That had helped his cause even more. He' basically handed Olga the rope and let her hang herself. And she had. Spectacularly.

He sighed, looking down at the shirt in his hands. He wanted Helga back

He'd get her back.

Eventually . . .


	19. Chapter 19

Arnold and Gerald sat at a table, a pizza between them. Arnold hadn't even touched it. Sid, Harold and Stinky were sitting at a booth across from them.

"I just don't get it," he said. "If Steven was so bad to her, why did she . . . why did she, you know, fall in love with him, or whatever?"

"I'm sure she had her reasons, man" he said, biting into another piece.

"Like what?" he demanded.

"What was it like when you were there?" he asked.

"Cut off," he told her. "He actually disconnected the phone line. And there was only one in the whole house, and that was in his office."

"What else?" he asked.

"Well, all the rooms were locked, even the one to her sistser's room," he told him. "And even the attic was locked. But Helga found the keys and we went up there."

"You spent time on your phone, though" he pointed out. Arnold nodded. "Okay, so if you hadn't had that phone, there was no phone line, and no way to access the internet . . . who would you have talked to?"

"Helga," he said, like she was stupid. "She was the only other person the-"

"You had that for twenty four hours?" he asked. Arnold gulped and nodded. "Okay, now stretch that out to over twelve months. The main person you are with is Helga. And say . . . I . . . was also with you, but never there, and whenever you needed something, you had to turn to Helga. There was no one else."

Thoughts were tumbling through his head. "But she had access to a car."

"Didn't you say she had bars on her bedroom windows?" Gerald asked.

"They put bars on it to keep her in," he told her.

"Why?"

"Because she tried to . . . run . . . away . . ." he stammered.

"And that was _without_ stealing a car," Gerald pointed out. "Imagine what they would have done if she _had_? Not to mention the police would have been all over her, too. They would have had even more reason to restrict her. If they confined her to her room without stealing a car, where would they have put her if she had? A cell in the basement?"

"I . . . hadn't-"

"Look, I'm not a fan of Helga, never have been, and never will be, but man, come _on_ ," he said. Arnold couldn't believe Gerald was pleading a case for Helga. Gerald couldn't believe it either. He was going to need a shower after this! "She had only one person she could turn to. Her sister was acting the bitch to her-"

"To keep her from getting comfortable," Arnold pointed out.

"Still, Helga didn't know that, did she? So she couldn't go to her sister, the other people in the house were employees slash serial killers-"

"Well, Colin was," Arnold corrected him.

"Yeah, but the other one dragged a body through a maze," Gerald said, leaning forward and widening his eyes. "A _body_! You can't even make this shit up, man. This will go down as the _ultimate_ Urban Legend."

"Your point?" Arnold asked.

"Point? Oh, yeah, so your on a desert Island-"

"We're on an Island now?"

"You know what? Shut up. Look, he was all she had. He was kind, he took her places, he was her one source of freedom," Gerald said. "I mean, we're talking about Helga G. Pataki man. She even latched onto Lila for friendship. _Lila_. She _hates_ Lila!"

"I guess," he said.

"Well, I know, so," he continued, "He was also handsome, smart, rich, older, and you know chicks dig older, rich guys. And here he is, paying her attention, something she never had at home right? Or from any of us because we know she could kick our butts. It's no wonder she fell in love with the guy."

"Shit, I'm falling in love with him!" Sid said suddenly. Arnold looked over to see that the three boys had been listening, and that other kids from school in the other booths were hanging over listening, too.

"Hell yeah!" Rhonda shouted. "A rich, gorgeous, sugar daddy . . . it'd be worth the confinement, and I bet he was spectacular in bed!"

Arnold's eyes narrowed dangerously, and everyone went silent for a moment.

"Oh, Arnold, I'm so-"

"Forget it, I get it, he was soooo fucking wonderful, and soooo fucking rich, and soooo fu-"

"Relax, man," Gerald said, getting up and putting a hand on his friends shoulder. "Look, he was a creep at the end of the day. But you have to put yourself in Helga's shoes. He wasn't just her brother in law. He was her saivor. In some ways, he was all she had."

"She had me!" he yelled, tears blurring his vision.

"Not all the time," Stinky said. "Just once a week for a month, wasn't it? Before that, you guys weren't communicating at all."

 _Why was everyone defending Helga!?_ he shouted out in his head. _None of them even liked her! And until all this came about no one bothered to talk about her, or ask about her or anything!_

None of them.

Not even him.

. . .

Helga was glad to be getting out of here before her eighteenth birthday. Two months in a nut house was more than enough for her. Dr. Bliss waited patiently for her to get her stuff together, and then drove her to Arnold's place.

"Your inheritence is being fast tracked," she told her. "Until then, you'll be receiving a small amount each week from Steven's estate."

"I don't want anything from Steven's estate," she said, though she didn't mean it. Her heart hurt when she thought about him. She couldn't help it. Was he okay alone there? Mentally she shook her head. Why would she think of him? After what he did? _But what did he do?_ She was still so confused.

"Nevertheless, that is what he set up himself, and you should take it," she said. "It's the least he can do."

Helga said nothing, just continued to watch the buildings go by. Hillwood hadn't changed much in the year and a n=bit she had been gone. But then, it hadn't changed much since when she was a kid. What difference would one year make? When they pulled up to the Boarding House, it was just as Arnold was going in. He stopped and looked back at them. Helga looked away, feeling ashamed of herself.

"Do I have to stay here?" she asked.

"A couple of weeks, Dr. Bliss told her. "Once your eighteen you can do what you like. You'll have your money. But you really should get enrolled in school again, Helga. You need to graduate, and at the current rate-"

"I'll be fine," she told her.

"Helga-"

"I said I'd be fine!" she yelled, getting out of the car and slamming the door. Dr. Bliss sat back, frowning. She was so worried about her. She sighed, popping open the back door of the car so Helga could get her bag out. Arnold came down the stairs slowly, and Dr. Bliss could just hear them talking quietly.

"Do you need any help?" she heard Arnold asked.

"You have no idea," Helga snapped back at him, before slamming down the back door. Dr. Bliss got out as Helga stormed up the stairs then stood there, waiting as Arnold took the steps two at a time and opened the door and they went in.

Once in Arnold showed Helga to the room she would be staying in. Helga went in without a word and threw her bag on the floor and herself on the bed. Arnold stood there for a minute looking in at her, before making his way up to his own room.

Once there he laid on his back on his bed, watching the clouds drift overhead. From the looks of them, it was going to snow again, soon. He sighed, rolling onto his side and falling asleep.

. . .

When he awoke it was dark, and he needed the toilet. And he was hungry. Stretching he made his way down to the hallway and almost yelled from fright. Helga was standing at the top of the stairs looking down. She had a look of horror on her face, and Arnold slowly came up behind her, his heart thumping. What had her staring down the stairs so scared? He gulped them looked over her shoulder.

Nothing.

He frowned and looked at her. She was still looking down at the bottom of the stairs. What was she seeing that he couldn't? It was creeping him out, so he touched her hand and she turned and stared at him blankly.

"I need to get out," she said, before starting down the stairs. "I need to run. Olga says."

Arnold watched her go, freaking out and feeling like he wanted to scream. This was scary. He followed her down the steps, and watched as she got to the front door and pulled it. It didn't open, because it was locked. He came up behind her and saw she was starting to panic. "I can't get out!"

"Shhh," he said, pulling her away from the door. "You'll wake up the other boarders. Come on, I'll help you back to your room."

She didn't seem to hear him though. But she did let him lead her back to her room, where she sat on her bed, staring at the door.

"Helga, do you want a drink or something?" he asked. She looked at him and smiled, before throwing her arms around him.

"Oh Arnold, I missed you so much," she whispered in his ear, before pulling back and kissing him. "please don't leave me here again, please, please."

He had to pull back from her kissing his face, holding her at arms length.

"Don't you love me anymore?" she asked. "I love you. Only you."

Arnold didn't know what to do, she was clearly in some dream state. He froze when she did.

"Is he here? Is Steven here? Or Olga?" she asked, looking around.

Arnold got up and backed out of the room, but she didn't seem to notice. He closed the door and went downstairs. Times like these he wished he could drink something stiffer than milk or water. When he was finished and going back to his room he looked in on Helga quickly. She was on her back, sheets on the floor, asleep. He went in and pulled the covers over her so she wouldn't freeze, then went back to his room. It took him almost an hour before he fell asleep again.

. . .

The next day Arnold knocked on Helga's bedroom door and entered when she called for him to come in. "Hey."

"Hey," she said, not looking at him and continuing to stare up at the ceiling.

"So, how are you this morning?" he asked, wondering if she had been sleepwalking last night.

"I woke up feeling like going for a swim," she said. "But I can't."

"Well, I'm going to the movies with some friends," he told her. "Would you like to come along?"

Helga shook her head.

"So, what? You're just going to sit in your room all day?" he asked grumpily. Helga nodded. "Whatever, have fun."

He stormed down the stairs, and out the door, throwing on his coat.

. . .

Helga listened to him go, before rolling onto her stomach and picking up a book she had started reading. Some stupid romance novel she had been lent by Suzie. It was about a rich guy sexually dominating a young woman . . . it made her think of Steven and she once again threw it at the wall, and broke into tears. _This is ridiculous. I need fresh air!_

So she dressed up warm and went down to sit on the stood and watch people go by. She looked and saw children having snowball fights with each other in the snow. Helga smiled listening to them laugh and yell and the girls squeal. She never squealed as a girl. Unless she saw rats! She had never realised just how moisy the area was. Probably because she had been part of the noise. Looking right she saw a familiar petite girl walking her way. Her jet black hair was still worn short, but her glasses had changed a bit. When she got closer, Helga recognized her Japanese heritage in her features. The girl saw her and stopped. For a moment they just tared at each other, before the other girl moved forward tentatively.

"Helga?" she asked, as if not seeming to believe what she was seeing.

"In the flesh, Pheebs," she replied, smiling.

"Oh my God!" she cried, coming forward and hugging Helga tightly. Helga wrapped her arms around Phoebe as well and started to cry. She had needed her sensible friend so much over the past year, not even realizing til that moment just how much. They pulled back and Helga saw tears in Phoebe's eyes, too. "You never wrote back. Is it true you were kept enslaved by your sister and her husband? Oh, Helga, you should hear the rumors going around!"

"I'll bet," she said with a shaky laugh, wiping her eyes. "What's the most outrageous you've heard?"

"That your sister and brother-in-law were keeping you captive to give them babies!" she told her, eyes wide.

"Well, that wasn't too far off, I suppose, but Olga didn't have anything to do with that . . . " Helga trailed off. Phoebe gasped. "Got a few hours?"

"For you I have a few days!" Phoebe shouted, throwing her arms around her again. "I'm sorry I was such a bitch Helga. And over stupid numbers!"

"We all get stupid over stupid things, no biggie."

. . .

It took time and coaxing, but Phoebe was finally able to get Helga to go somewhere public. She could see the difference in her old friend. Where once Helga would have walked this street daring anyone to so much as look at her funny, now she walked with her head slightly bowed, quiet and shy. _Must be a side effect from such isolation_ , Phoebe thought. Helga was not the wallflower type, so being kept away from other people for so long must have had a devastating impact.

Not to mention the idea that Steven could be out there, though Phoebe got the feeling that didn't really bother Helga too much. It was strange listening to Helga talk about Steven. She didn't seem angry at him, or even scared. If anything she sounded worried for him. _Stolkholm Syndrome?_ Phoebe asked herself. _If Helga came across Steven in the street, what would she do? Would she go to him or away from him?_ The idea worried Phoebe. What would she do if that were to happen? Who did she call? It got to where she was almost always scanning the crowds to see if he was there, somewhere.

Eventually she hated going out with Helga. She tried to talk to Arnold, but he didn't seem to want to know. So she went to Gerald and presented her dilemma to him, and he promised to try to talk to Arnold about it. If he did, Arnold never said anything, and carried on his own grumpy way, completely ignoring her. And pretty much everyone else. A girl he was friendly with, and ocationally flirted with or took out on dates the year before, was completely stonewalled by him. He didn't talk to her, text her, or even look at her. So he got a name for himself amongst her and his friends. But he didn't seem to care.

When she said something to Helga, she shrugged. "We don't talk, so no point telling me."

It was frustrating!

. . .

The morning of Hega's eighteenth birthday came and with it a small package. She took it upstairs to open it and found a jewellery box inside. When she opened it she found a diamond and sapphire necklace, with matching earrings and ring. She didn't need to read the accompanying card to know who it was from.

'How much trouble could he get in?' she asked herself, running her fingers over the roughness of the necklace. It was beautiful. When she heard a knock on her door, she quickly hid it under her pillow, smoothed her hair and went to greet the knocker. It was Arnold.

"Grandma wants to know if you want something special for breakfast," he said.

"No, it's okay, I'm going to meet Phoebe at a cafe in town today," she told him.

"Wow, your leaving the house?" he asked sarcastically, before turning around and walking off. Helga glared at his back, before retreating into her bedroom and going back to the set and looking at it again, and putting it on. Not the ring though, that she left in the box, then walked over to the mirror and admired them. He could get arrested for having done this, she thought, thinking of the protection order. He wasn't supposed to contact her in any way, or send her anything. And yet, here he was, risking it all . . . she bit her lip, and looked away, feeling guilty. What was going on with her head?

. . .

Steven was finishing up his business meeting, and about to order another cup of coffee when he saw her walk in with another girl. He couldn't believe it. She was there, right there. He looked closer. And she was wearing his gift! His elation turned to a bit of confusion when he noticed she wasn't wearing the ring. She walked over to a table with her friend and took a seat, and while her friend went and ordered, she looked around and spotted him. Her mother opened in shock, and she looked quickly to where her friend was, then back to him, looking unsure what to do. He waved and she sent him a small unsure smile, but didn't wave back.

She's too scared too, he thought, seeing her watching her friend, who was coming back with a number to place on their table. He held his breath, wondering if she was going to tell her friend. But she didn't say anything to her. He released his breath and continued to watch her. Every now and then she would look his way, then back to her friend. He watched as her friend got up and went to the ladies. Helga watched her go then looked his way. He got up and started to make his way over to her. Fear flashed in her eyes, but then he saw her look towards the ladies where her friend had gone, and realized she was scared _for_ him, not _of_ him.

When he got to her he smiled down at her, and stroked her cheek.

"Happy birthday," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "I see you got your birthday gift."

"You shouldn't be talking to me," she said, looking up at him. "You would-"

"It was temporary," he said. "We still need to go back to court about it."

He walked away, not wanting to risk being seen by her friend. When he looked back, Helga looked his way at the same time.

She was meant to be with him. He knew it. She had to know it, too.

She would come to him. He'd make sure of it.

. . .

Helga looked up as Phoebe sat back down.

"That restroom is so gross!" she said. "You'd think in an establishment like this they would keep them cleaner."

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked her. "You look a little -"

"I think I'm ready to go home," she said. "I . . . I think I may have seen Steven out on the road."

"Oh, okay, well, we can go now if you like," she said, gathering up her coat. Helga gathered hers and put it on before they left. She was felling confused and conflicted. She just needed to be alone.

. . .

Arnold walked up to Helga's room and knocked. When he heard her call him to come in, he entered. He'd spent all day feeling bad for how he had spoken to her, and had finally decided to get over himself. He had gone out and bought her some flowers and a new sketch book and pencils. She had left all that behind, and had brought none with her. And a card, also.

She was again sitting on her bed, and he sat down on it as well.

"What's all this?" she asked.

"I didn't give you the best birthday greeting this morning," he said sheepishly. "So I thought i would try to make it up to you."

Helga took the red roses and white carnation boquet from him, and the sketch book and pencils. She started to tear up, remembering the last time he had given her something. She looked up at him with bleary eyes. "Thank you, Arnold."

He cleared his throat. "If you like, there is the new Evil Twin re-make out at the movies now. I was going to go along to it tonight, if you'd like to join me."

She gave him her shyest, but most genuine smile since that cold morning they drove away. "I would love to go."


	20. Chapter 20

Lines of communication began to open between them both. They both took it slowly. They would take a walk in the park. They would go to a movie, talk about the school work they were doing. Arnold would sit in the room and read while Helga drew or wrote or drew, or painted. He had snuck a look at what she was writing. It was poems, and the beginnings of a story, with an outline on what was to happen. Helga slowly returned to her snarky self, not just with him, but with others, too. When they sat their final exams, they passed. Everything was looking up for them but for one down point. His grandma.

When the court date came to extend the protection order, Helga told no one, and didn't attend.

She had not been well, and Helga found herself taking over some of her duties. She started cooking the dinners. She would clean the house. Admittedly she did it better than his grandma ever had. When Oscar said as much, Helga snapped at him that she had youth on her side, and that he should show more respect. And what was his excuse for being so damn useless? Everyone was stunned by what she said for a moment, before Ernie burst out in loud laughter, and Mr Hyunn started to chuckle. Suzie hid a smile behind her hand. Oscar put his head down and never said a word of complaint about anything while Helga was around again. Though everyone had a laugh at the outburst, it was anything but funny to Helga, and it hadn't meant to be. Gertrude's health declining, was affecting Phil's health as well. And that affected Arnold. And that affected her. It seemed that the other boarders didn't take notice at all. It frustrated her.

Early one summer morning everyone was woken by a cry. Arnold was banging down from his attic room, Helga and the other boarders left their rooms to see what was going on. Arnold went into his grandparents room, then rushed out to the telephone, calling 911 and demanding an ambulance. Helga looked in to see Phil sitting on the bed, holding his wife in his arms and crying. She covered her mouth and took a step back. Arnold went back in, while Helga went downstairs, opening the front door for when the paramedics arrived.

When they did they pronounced her deceased. They took her body away, Phil trying to go with her.

"There's nothing you can do now, Grandpa," Arnold said, looking shocked, and with tears in his eyes. Helga watched him carefully, as the tears slipped from his eyes.

Death seemed to follow her where ever she went, it seemed. Her parents, her tutor, that girl in the maze, her sister, now Arnold's grandmother . . . in two years, six people had passed, five of whom she cared about. She went to her room, closing the door behind her. Was she cursed? Had she upset some higher powers that be? Was that it?

. . .

The whole atmosphere in the boarding house changed. For the days leading up to the funeral, Phil wouldn't eat. They tried everything, and even the threat of ending up in hospital didn't help. In the end Helga got him eating yogurt and drinking water. But little else. Arnold was trying to be strong, but it was hard on him. She wasn't just his grandma. She had been the only "mother" he'd ever known, too.

On the actual day it was only Arnold, his grandfather and his Aunt Mitzi, who was wheeled in by a nurse, who sat in the front pew. Helga sat at the back. There were so many people, including the Mayor, who described her as the biggest personality Hillwood had ever had. When it was over, people were hugging Arnold and Phil, though it seemed to go straight over his head. The worst part was watching as the pallbearers carried the coffin out to the hearse. Helga kept back. Once they were gone, and while guests mingled, she made her way back to the boarding house with Arnold. While he sat in the living room, she went to the kitchen, where Suzie joined her moments later, helping prepare and set out food for the mourners who would come to the house. And they did come, and eat, and share stories, and catch up and then leave. It was left to her and Suzie to clean up, and Oscar was the one who complained about it all, though he didn't lift a hand to help. One glare from Helga shut him right up though.

Once it was all over she had a shower, then went back to her room. She straightened it up, though it didn't need it, and then sat down to draw. But couldn't. So she tried reading, writing, but none of it seemed to work. She couldn't shake off a feeling of guilt. Like, if she hadn't come here, just stayed where she was, her sister never would have fallen down the stairs, Arnold's grandma wouldn't have died.

"You idiot, she was old and sick, she would have died whether you had been here or not," she snapped at herself. "Your not responsible for Death's choices!"

"She probably would have died sooner, to be honest," she heard Arnold say from her doorway. "She was doing too much on her own before you came to stay. When you came and started helping, it was good, It meant she and Grandpa got to spend more time together. Even Grandpa says so."

He came further in, his eyes red from crying, and sat on her bed.

"They've been together for almost seventy years, Helga," he told her. "Seventy. Can you imagine?"

"Yes," she replied honestly. "I can."

"Really?"

"When I look at you I can," she admitted to him.

"You can?" he asked, leaning towards her. She nodded, and wrapped him in her arms, where he cried, and she kissed the top of his head.

"Only with you," she whispered.

. . .

Waking up next to Arnold the next morning, felt so natural to her. She laid on her side and just looked at him. He was fast asleep, still in the shorts and t-shirt he'd worn last night. He'd fallen asleep while in her arms, and she'd had fallen asleep not long after. Somehow during the night they'd both managed to get into a proper laying position. Sh reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, then stopped. Was she being creepy? She sighed and went back to lying on her back.

"I was enjoying that," he said. She looked at him and he smiled.

"You were? You didn't think it was creepy?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Why would I think it was creepy?" he asked, closing his eyes again.

 _Because it was something Steven would do to me,_ she thought, but said nothing. It was the first time she had thought of something between them being weird or odd or creepy. Would she always do this? Would she always be careful with what she said and did in case it reminded her of something he said or did to her, or she did to him? What if Arnold said or did something that triggered her? She sat up and looked down at her pillow.

"Helga, what's wrong?" he asked, sitting up as well. She looked at him and forced a smile.

"Nothing," she said. "We should probably get up."

"I don't want to," he said. "I just want to lie here and close my eyes and pretend everything is normal."

"Then you're going to be lying there a while," she said, picking up her pillow and hitting him in the face. "Come on Football Head, fight me."

He was taken back for a moment, before smirking and grabbing the other pillow and going to hit her back, but she blocked it with hers. So he tried again. Helga was getting more hits in than he was, and he cried foul when she got off the bed.

"No rules!" she shouted back at him. So he jumped off the bed and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up and throwing her down on the bed then used his pillow to hit her in the face. When he lifted it up to hit her again, she reached up behind his head and pulled his face to hers and kissed him. He dropped the pillow and kissed her, both hands instantly grabbing the side of her face, their kissing becoming more and more passionate. Helga grabbed the bottom of Arnold's shirt and pulled it up. He got up on his knees so she could pull it off over his head.

For him, the rush he was getting from this was replacing the feeling of sorrow. For Helga it was just passion, with all of herself. Just the touch of Arnold's lips on hers, on her skin, sent electricity through her. He could wind her up with a look, his voice, his scent, _everything_!

Then suddenly he was pulling away from her!

"No, no, we can't do this, not now," he told her breathlessly.

"What? Why?" she asked, just as breathless.

"I just . . . I can't, I'm sorry," he said, pulling away from her grasp and leaving the room.

"Why?" Helga cried. "Please, just tell me."

"After-"

"Steven? Is it because of what happened with Steven?" she demanded, standing up from the bed.

"Helga-"

"Forget it," she hissed viciously. She got up and pushed past him.

"Helga, stop!" he called out, but she ignored him, flying down the stairs, daring fate to trip her and send her crashing to the bottom like it had to her sister. But it didn't. Instead she made it to the door and ran, Arnold calling out tot her the whole time.

He didn't want her. She was ruined in his eyes He'd always see her as damaged goods, and if he did every other guy would too, wouldn't they? She saw a bus at the stop and jumped on, digging into her pocket for her wallet. Thank God she hadn't changed into pajama's or a nightie last night! Thankfully she hadn't removed her clothes. She threw change at the bus driver, who grumbled about her, and dropped down onto a seat, letting her tears fall, and buried her face in her hands.

She didn't see Arnold standing at the bus stop helplessly as it drove away.

. . .

"Oh, shit," Arnold said under his breath, running his hands through his hair. How could he have been so stupid. It had all come out wrong, or been taken the wrong way. It had nothing to do with her having been with Steven, and everything to do with him just wanting to take it slow for her sake. He was trying to form the words in his head, but she hadn't given him a chance. He wasn't as fast a thinker as she was, or as eloquent with his words. He noted the bus number was one that went into town. All he had to do was wait for the next one. But how would he know where she got off?

He needed help, and to get that he ran back to the boarding house.

. . .

Helga looked outside the window and realized she recognized this area. Somewhere around here Steven had an office . . . there! She pushed the button and at the next stop the bus pulled over and she got out. She stood there for a moment, looking around. If she remembered rightly, it was the street she just went past, so she backtracked and followed another road to the familiar looking building. It was an older one, but on the inside it was completely modern. There were several businesses in the building, and she looked up Steven's, then made her way to the elevator, then stopped and turned around and made her way out, but stopped at the door, and turned around.

On one hand, she wanted to see him, on the other she didn't. How would he react to seeing her after everything that had happened? Would he be angry or happy? She hadn't extended the protection order, and yet he hadn't tried contacting her, even after that day in the cafe. Maybe he didn't want to know her now?

"Are you alright Miss?" the security guard asked, coming over to her.

"Um, yeah, just . . . I'm looking for Steven Stonefield," she said.

"Oh, I think he went out to a meeting a little while ago, but I'm sure if you go up to his office his secretary can contact him or you can wait," he told her.

"Yeah, I know, I'm just not-

"Helga!" she heard a man call out. She looked up and her breath caught, and her heart stopped, she swore. There he was in all his tall, handsome, glory, striding towards her with an unsure smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I . . . I don't, um," she stuttered, looking down at her shoes and trying to calm herself down. It felt like her heart was going to fly out of her chest, and she felt like being sick, but at the same time she felt happy seeing him. It was so conflicting.

"Come up to the office, and we can talk there," he said gently, turning her around and placing his hand on the small of her back, and leading her to the elevator. Once inside she stood there quietly, glancing at him every so often, and he did the same. When they got to their level and got off, he told his secretary to hold his calls. He had a family "emergency". She raised an eyebrow, but nodded and went back to her work after throwing Helga a stink eye. Helga glared at her, and she looked away.

"Well, she's a bitch," Helga muttered, as she dropped into a seat.

"I can't be too long with this, Helga," he told her, taking a seat behind his desk. "I have a flight to France in the morning, and need to prepare some things."

Helga got up. "I don't know why I'm here," she said. "I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you extend the order?" he asked.

"I don't know, I guess I didn't feel threatened by you," she told him.

"Whose idea was it?" he asked. Helga shrugged. "Your eighteen now."

"Yep, big enough to make my own decisions," she told him, holding her head high. "No one's the boss of me."

Steven smiled. "Do you want to come with me to Paris?"

Helga's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?" she asked, sitting down again. He nodded.

"There was a University you were thinking of over there, wasn't there?" he asked.

"Yeah . . ."

"Well, here's your chance to go there, look around and decide if you like it," he told her, smiling. "Then, if you do, we'll work something out."

Helga sat back, stunned. Did he just ask her to fly away to France? Like, tomorrow?

"I can get you a ticket, meet you there, or pick you up from somewhere," he told her, and she could hear the urgency creeping into his voice. he had been trying to play it cool. He grabbed her hands in his. "Come with me, Helga."

"I-"

"Why don't we go get some lunch?" he suggested. "You can think it over."

Helga just nodded, stunned.

. . .

Later that night a worried Arnold heard the door open, then close and looked to see Helga walking in.

"Where were you? We were all worried about you," he yelled.

"I needed to think," she said vaguely, starting up to her room.

"And you couldn't text someone, or ring and let us all know you were okay?" he demanded, following her up. He heard his grandpa call out his name in a warning tone, but he ignored him. "Well?"

Helga continued walking to her room, and as she went to enter Arnold blocked her.

"Look, you got the wrong idea, okay?" he told her. "I know it sounded . . . I don't know, but it probably wasn't in the way you thought."

"Are you going to England for University?" she asked suddenly. Arnold took a step back, and she used that as a chance to enter her room.

"Are you serious?" he asked, following her in. "I haven't heard back yet. In any case, no, I won't. My grandma just died. My grandpa needs me here. I'm going to go somewhere closer."

"Pity," she said, pushing him backwards out the door and slamming it in his face. She stood there for a few minutes then went to her drawers and grabbed her passport. She must be crazy! She was crazy. But she wanted to get away from here, away from everyone. Just away, and Steven was offering her that chance.

She was going to take it.

. . .

At the airport she saw Steven waiting for her near check-in. She was so nervous, she felt like she needed to pee, even though she just had. Going through all the checks, they were finally on the other side and just had to wait for their flight to be called. She was looking over his itinary, and saw he wasn't going to have a lot of free time in the first couple of days, but it was a seven day stay.

"You can always go exploring while I'm in meetings," he told her. "There's no reason for you to stay cooped up in the hotel."

She smiled, and started planning out her trips and where she would go visit. Her phone started buzzing for the hundreth time in her pocket, but she ignored it. it would be Phoebe, or Arnold, or Lila, or someone wanting to know where she was. She was sure they'd all figure it out pretty soon. They'd go looking for her at Steven's, find out he was overseas and no doubt check into her, and she that she, too, was overseas. She finally took the phone out and looked to see it was indeed, Phoebe.

She debated answering it, but then decided against it, just as she heard the boarding call for their flight show up on the screen and over the intercom. She took a last look at it, before quickly deciding to send her a text, saying she was fine, and safe, and she just needed time to herself and would get back to her in a week. Then she switched off her phone, grabbed her carry on and followed Steven's lead to first class.

. . .

Phoebe looked over at Arnold and Dr. Bliss.

"She didn't answer, and now it's going straight to voicemail," she told them, when her phone pinged. She saw she had a text message and opened it to see t was from Helga. "She's fine, she just needs time to herself and she'll get back to me in a week."

"A week?" Arnold asked. "Well, where has she gone?"

"She doesn't say," she told him, shaking her head.

"We should get the police involved," Arnold said.

"I'm not sure there's a lot they can do, Arnold," she told him. "She's over eighteen, and she's sent a message saying she's safe and taking time to herself."

"Yeah, but-"

"We'll see what happens when she gets back," Dr. Bliss said. "In the meantime I will look into seeing what I can have done to prevent her from pulling a stunt like this again."

. . .

"You didn't bring much with you," Steven commented, nodding to her bag.

"I just grabbed some clothes, and money," she told him, and opened her bag, pulling out the box. "And this."

Steven smiled.

"That set belonged to my mother," he told her. "My father gave it to her when he proposed to her."

Helga looked at him, eyebrows rising, as a strange feeling came over her. She looked down at the set again, eyes on the ring. She picked it up. "So, this was her engagement ring?"

"Yeah, it was," Steven said, taking her hand and slipping it on her ring finger, smiling at her as he did. "So if anyone asks, your taken."


	21. Chapter 21

Arnold sat at his computer, watching the screen intently. Helga had used his laptop a few days ago to access her bank account, and he knew that eventually, she would have to use it again, and as soon as she did, he could find out where she was. So far nothing, though. Dr. Bliss had gotten in touch with Steven's offices, who had informed her that he was out of the country on business, but wouldn't tell him what country he was in. But they did learn that Helga had seen him the day before. She'd shown up at the office to talk to him. But that was all they could get out of the woman. That, and he would be back in seven days, which matched up to Helga's "a week" comment to Phoebe.

"Do you really think she would fly to Paris with Steven?" Gerald asked, incredulous. "I mean . . . well, considering . . ."

"Dr. Bliss tried to explain what was going on, but I can't figure it out," Arnold said. "She's not thinking the way someone should, Gerald."

"Or maybe, just maybe, he isn't as bad as everyone is making him out to be," he suggested.

"Gerald . . ." Arnold warned.

"Come on, man," he said. "Did he ever really hurt her?"

"She's just run off with the guy to Paris, Gerald," Arnold told him. "After what he did, keeping her prisoner, and-"

"Helga, by her own admission has said-"

"Yeah, but-"

"She's a big girl, Arnold," he told him. "Maybe this is just something she needs to do."

"Dr. Bliss says-"

"That she's suffering from a form of Stockholm, yeah, I know, Arnold," he said.

"And other things . . ."

"But she's not in danger," Gerald pointed out.

"That we know of," Arnold countered with. Gerald sighed, frustrated.

"Forget it," he said. "We could go around in circles all day about this. I'm just saying, maybe Helga _does_ know what she's doing. Dr. Bliss doesn't know everything."

Gerald left not long after that, frustrated with Arnold. Arnold meanwhile, went back to the computer. He had looked up flights from there to Paris, France. Helga hadn't used her card at the airport on this side, so he was hoping she would use it on that side. Still nothing, he went down to have lunch. Later that afternoon though he saw she had finally used it. But it was to transfer money from her ordinary account to a travel account. When had she set that up? And why would she even have it? Orley. Okay, so he knew where she was. Another idea struck him, and he signed into her mobile account online to see if her Find my Phone App was working. It also showed she was here. Then he looked up flights from here to there. There was one tomorrow. Seven hours. He balked at the cost. And once he was there, he would need to find accommodation . . . but the currencies were pretty much on par with each other, his dollar being better than theirs. He thought about it for a few minutes.

"Fuck it," he said, going online and booking a ticket for himself and paid for it. He'd think about where he was going to stay once he got there. Then he turned and started to pack.

. . .

"So your a short walk from Champe de Mars gardens and the Eiffel Tower," Steven told her. "You can walk there. We're here."

Helga took the map from him and looked it over. So walking down, across and down the little street would take her into the park, and through that to the Eiffel tower. She was impressed.

"So we can see the tower from where are?" she asked.

"Yep, it's an apartment on Avenue de la Bourdonnais," he told her. "You'll like it."

"I need to transfer some money," she said, looking around. She pulled out her phone and turned it on. She sat down and connected to the internet and went into her bank account, transferring money from her everyday to her travel account she had set up just yesterday. She was able to use her card, but without the huge fees. She could also withdraw money from the machines here. All the money automatically converted into Euro's. Then she went to a machine and withdrew some money. She wanted to get a drink, but wasn't going to use her card for something so small.

Once they were through customs, they made their way to the exit and Helga saw a car waiting for them. Steven started to tell her about the others things they could do. A day trip out of Paris to Monet's Garden, see the Palace of Versailles.

"There's so many places to explore," he told her excitedly, his eyes lighting up. His excitement was rubbing off on her.

"And we'll look at the university?" she asked. He looked at her blankly for a moment before answering in the affirmative.

"But we're not going to spend all out time there," he told her. "I'm already losing two days, not including this one settling in. We're in the country for seven days, but really it's only five, when you take into account arriving and departing."

She supposed he was right. She'd never traveled this far before. It was exciting, but also a bit frightening. She inhaled. And the air smelt . . . different? She shook her head. Now she was being silly.

Once they were in the car, and pulling away, Helga stared out the window. Steven was already on his phone, talking away in French. Helga was proud of herself for understanding him, but blocked him out and just enjoyed the scenary passing by, eventually at some point falling asleep. She woke to Steven shaking her shoulder as they drove along a tree lined road, with restaurants, cafes and shops below, and apartments above, until they pulled up to one. There was a cafe or restaurant, Helga wasn't sure. Getting out, she just followed Steven's lead, who seemed to know where he was going. It was now that she truly learned just how rich he was. She knew he was disgustingly rich. But once they entered and went upstairs to the apartment and opened the door to see a maid finishing up, she realized he was grossly rich.

"And here we are," he told her, spreading his arms out wide. "No one's been here since your sisters stay last year."

Helga dropped her bag and her jaw dropped open.

"Wow," she breathed. It seemed a bit over the top, though. She could see there were three sliding doors that led to three seperate, very small balconies. One off the lounge, two off the bedroom. Looking out the windows she could see the Eiffel Tower. Every morning she would wake up, look out the window and there it was.

"We'll go out for dinner tonight, but we will go to a market tomorrow and get some food to cook, if you like," Steven told her, looking at his watch. "Or we can just dine out every night."

"Helga just shook her head, walking into the bedroom. Seeing the huge bed she did a short run and jump onto it, snuggling down. Paris. She was in freaking _Paris! S_ he kicked her feet and pounded her fists on the bed squealing with delight. Like a small child having a tantrum on her back. Then she laid back with the biggest smile on her face, staring at the ceiling.

"I take it you like it?" Steven asked, laying next to her on the bed. Her nerves started up as soon as they knew he was close, almost touching. She closed her eyes and nodded. "Well, maybe if you go to university here, we'll just stay here. I can work from anywhere, really."

She looked over at him. "What do you do?" she asked.

"A bit of this, a bit of that," he told her vaguely. "Never put your eggs in one basket."

"You're not a millionaire, are you?" she asked, sitting up.

"My parent's were millionaires, Helga," he told her, leaning over her. "I capitalized on it." She leaned back and let him kiss her, before kissing him back.

. . .

While Helga was waking up in Paris, Arnold was drifting off on a plane. He'd been too nervous to sleep. Before he left he again accessed Helga's cellphone app, and found about where she was staying. On his way there he was looking up hostels and hotels. He found a hotel that was sort of close, and had a vacancy and booked himself in. Then he let himself sleep the seven hour flight away, waking up as they descended. After that, he had to find his way from the airport to the hostel. He followed the directions, and finally got there, booked himself in, then made his way to the room. When he got in he saw a queen bed, with a multi-colored chandelier hanging over it which made him raise his brow, and en-suite, and a TV. There was also a huge mirror and a wardrobe to put his stuff in. It was cosy, with a large window that opened onto the closed in court yard. He wasn't tired, after having slept on the plane, but he was hungry, so went to find where there was somewhere to eat. Chatting to the woman at reception, he found it was possible to buy food and make it, or he could just get his food from the hotel. He chose something from the hotel, ate, and decided to get a map book. Setting up his laptop first he tracked Helga down. She was in Champs de Mars. He looked up how to get there from where he was. It was walking distance. He cursed himself for not getting roaming on his phone before he left. Maybe he could find a cheap one to use while he was here?

. . .

Helga stood staring at the children going around and around on the carousel. She had watched someone get it going by hand. This was day two of her stay, and she had wandered around the gardens. She had hoped to go up the Eiffel Tower, but was unable to. She was disappointed, but it was shut for security reasons or something. However you could still get to the restaurant that was up there. Steven had already promised to take her there. The night before he had gotten a call and had left in a bad mood, promising to be back soon. He was, but Helga pretended to be asleep. So their first night there wasn't romantic in any way. Then he had left early in the morning for a meeting. She had gotten up, gotten some breakfast at a cafe, then made her way to the Eiffel Tower. As excited as she was to be there, she couldn't help but feel lonely. Paris had to be enjoyed with someone, she thought, watching the families around her eat picnic lunches, friends playing on the grass, couples walking hand in hand, groups of tourists taking photo's . . .

"What do you have to say for yourself?" someone asked, stepping up beside her. She jumped, gasped and tripped over, looking up at the person in shock. He just glared down at her.

"Ar . . . Arnold?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "What?"

"I tracked you via your bank transaction and your phone," he told her, folding his arms across his chest. "Do you have any idea how much money I've spent?"

Helga could feel her mouth opening and closing but no sound was coming out.

"In fact, I haven't even slept yet! I literally got off the plane, got to my hotel, and ate on the way here," he told her. Nearby a teenage couple were taking notice, and a small group of Chinese tourists were also looking.

"I-"

"You took off! What the hell were you thinking?" he shouted. He bent down til he was on level with her and grasped her by the shoulders, giving her a little shake before pulling her into a strong hug. "I was so worried about you."

"You were?" she asked.

"Of course!" he shouted. "I just spent thousands of dollars to get here, and will be spending a few hundred more staying. And you ask me that? If I was worried?"

Helga looked down at the ground. What was she doing here? It was like there was two people fighting over her, but in her head. One was telling her to go one way, with Steven, where she knew what was expected. But the other was saying to go the other way, with Arnold, which wasn't as clear cut as the path Steven would lead her down.

"Helga, why are you here with Steven?" Arnold asked.

"Why are you here?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Because I was worried about you!" he shouted at her. "Everyone is worried about you."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?" he asked. "Because you took off, not telling anyone where you went. And we all find out it's with Steven. Are you insane?"

"So basically, everyone is worried because you all think I'm crazy and I'm with Steven?" she asked.

"No one said you were crazy," Arnold said.

"You just asked me if I was insane," she pointed out.

"Don't put words in my mouth," he warned. "I don't appreciate it."

"Did you know, until my parents died, you and I never even spoke anymore," she said thoughtfully. "I think you have a hero complex."

"Excuse me?" he asked. "And if I remember correctly, and I'm pretty damn sure I do, _you_ stopped talking to _me_. Not the other way around."

"Yeah, I mean, I'm no one to you, then my parents die, and suddenly, there you are," she told him. "And then for months we don't hear from each other, I see you with a girl, you have this "feeling" I'm in danger, and then boom! There you are again."

"Where is this coming from?" he asked. "Look-"

"I'm not damaged-"

"I never said you were-"

"I'm not in danger-"

"You don't know that-"

"I'm perfectly fine-"

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Arnold demanded. There was a long silence in which they just stared at each other for a long moment, not saying anything. "Look, we can go get something to eat and talk-"

"I don't want to," she told him. "I'm sorry you wasted all that money, Arnold, but I don't want to go with you."

Arnold watched in shock as she walked away, not looking back. He couldn't believe it. She'd just shut him down. Just like that. Not only that, she had tried turning everything on him! _Him_! And all he'd ever tried to do was help her.

"I give up," he said quietly, and returned to his hotel to update everyone on what had happened.

. . .

When Steven returned he found Helga sitting at the table staring out the window, sulking.

"How was your day?" he asked, putting his suitcase down, loosening his tie and removing his jacket. Helga looked over at him. He was dressed in a suit. Something she hadn't seen too often. He tended to be a more casual dresser when he could. He was clean shaven, had his hair neatly in place, too. So this was the business business side of him. He even looked a bit tired.

"I walked around Champs de Mars today, watched some children playing on the carousel, admired the gardens, people watched, had a look at the Eiffel Tower. It's different from how I imagined."

"How so?" he asked, taking the seat next to her, running his hand through his hair and mussing it up a bit. "It's so hot in this thing."

Helga smiled. "It's closer to the road than I imagined. I always thought it was in a park or something," she said. "Like the middle of a park. Instead it's just a few steps from a main road."

"Most iconic places are like that," he told her.

"And I was watching couples strolling around, old and young, families having picnics, and thought to myself, I need someone to enjoy all this with," she told him. He sighed.

"I know, and tonight you have all my attention," he told her, pulling out his cell phone. "See? All switched off, and getting left behind. I have reservations at tonight. And tomorrow we can have dinner and a stroll along the Siene. I'm sorry you're alone so much."

"And then Arnold showed up."

"What?" Steven asked, shock all over his face. "Here?"

"Yep, to tell me off for running away, and to complain about having spent a whole lot of money to get here," she told him.

"Well, it wouldn't have been cheap," Steven said, still shocked. "Did he say where he was staying?"

"Nope, but he said he was going to be gone in three days, because he could afford only that, I guess," she told him shrugging. Steven stared at her, and she could see he was thinking.

"Wow," he said. "That's one hell of a trip to make to tell someone off. He's not even staying long enough to enjoy the place."

"I feel a bit bad, because it would have been the money he'd saved to go to England," she said, looking down and tracing circles on the table. "But, it was a foolish thing to do, don't you think? I mean, generally, if a girl runs away to another country with another man she's in love with, doesn't that mean something?"

"I suppose," Steven said. "In any case, we have a dinner to get to, and we don't want to be late now, do we?"

. . .

Helga could not believe where she was sitting. In the Eiffel Tower, looking out a window, eating course two of a five course meal, drinking a glass of wine. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. She talked about the rest of her day, what she wanted to do, asked Steven more questions about what he was here for.

"Robotics," he answered. He launched into an explanation that Helga found mildly interesting. He seemed to realize and laughed. "It's an booming industry. But always remember, never put all your eggs in one basket, and you'll be fine."

"So, that's what your looking into?" she asked. He nodded.

"I need you to keep Friday clear," he told her. "You have an appointment. You'll need your portfolio."

"I left it at your place when I ran off," she told him. "Why?"

"So they can look it over," he told her. "And I brought it with me, just in case you decided to come. It's back at the apartment."

Helga's mouth dropped open and her fork clattered to the plate. "Are you serious?"

"If your keen to go, I can arrange payment, accommodation, and an allowance," he told her. "I won't be living here full-time, but I will be here as much as possible."

"You . . . oh my God!" she yelled, jumping up and throwing her arms around him. "Really? You'll really let me live and study here?"

"If that's what makes you happy Helga, yes," he told her, kissing her cheek. "I'll let you go."

. . .

Arnold decided to hit up a museum. Might as well do something while he was stuck here. All that money spent, he may as well soak up some of the city. He'd even gone to a nightclub the night before, waking up in a strange apartment, with a strange girl who spoke some English, no French, made him a coffee. Then they had breakfast and went their seperate ways, trading emails. It was . . . interesting, and not something he would have done. Ever. But he supposed there was an exception to everything. Gerald's mind would explode when he told him. _If he even believes me,_ Arnold thought with a smile. He'd actually gone out to forget about his confrontation with Helga, and he had, but he'd also had a lot of fun.

"Arnold, isn't it?" someone asked behind him. He turned around to see _him_ there. "Helga told me you made your way here. Good to see you're at least getting something out of the trip."

"She told you?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't she?" he countered. "I came back to the apartment, she's sulking, ask her what's going on, she's lonely and want's company, something I can't give her at the moment, and then brought you up. So, why are you here?"

"Because we're all worried about her," he said.

"And by all, you mean?"

"Me, Phoebe, Lila, the boarders, my grandpa, Dr. Bliss," he ticked off.

"So, friends, friends family and a psychiartrist?" Steven asked, smiling. "Dr. Bliss is a business woman first, Arnold, and a friend second. I know. I'm a businessman. Do you know what she charges an hour? Enough to chew through Helga's inheritance in a matter of months, leaving her with what? And I think the woman did more damage than good. Now, why are _you_ , yourself, here?"

"Because she's my friend and I care about her. A lot," he told him.

"Are you in love with her?" Steven asked. "I mean, flying here, all the way from the U.S, is a pretty grand gesture for friendship."

Arnold was silent.

"You don't know, do you?" Steven asked. "Well, I do know. I do love her. And I don't know what her sister told you, but Helga was never at risk with _me_. Walk with me."

Arnold said nothing, following behind.

"There is a lot that was going on that Helga didn't know," Steven started. "Olga and I were never in a "happy" marriage. She was one person before, and another after. She was also unwell."

"Mentally?" Arnold asked. Steven shook his head.

"And physically," he told him.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.

"She had a brain tumor," Steven told him. "She'd known for a while, but didn't tell me. I was at her and at her about her headaches, and she always brushed them off. Olga's problem was that she wouldn't face up to ugliness. She would ignore it. She pretended she never had the diagnosis. Eventually I found out, and confronted her about it. She didn't want Helga knowing, and then she took off for some "r&r". Or, as you have come to know it, warning you of how dangerous I was."

"So why did she tell me that?" Arnold demanded. "Why would she make it up?"

"Because, her original plan, was that Helga would act as a surrogate for us," he confessed. "I felt bad for Helga, and spent as much time as I could. Olga . . . I don't think she knew what she was doing half the time. I didn't know what she was doing half the time. Stonefield is out of the way, as you've seen yourself. When Helga first came to stay, I was told many things about you and your friends, and the rest of the people in the school. Helga wouldn't talk about much, so all I had to go by was what Olga told me. Just as all you had to go by was what Olga told you."

Arnold was starting to put pieces together that didn't seem to fit before. Steven sat down, and Arnold sat next to him.

"From what I heard about you and your friends, it was parties and drugs. And I do remember one time coming along and having a beer can thrown at the car after almost running down a young man," Steven told him. Arnold remembered that night. He was sober driver and Sid and Harold had gotten trollied. They'd gone out to the street and being stupid, Harold pushed Sid onto the street in front of a car. That only just missed him. Harold swore at the driver who paused, and threw a can of beer at the car. The car had driven off.

"I wasn't drunk," Arnold told him. "I'm almost always the sober driver."

"Yes, but you were there. So it didn't seem so far fetched to me when Olga would tell me tales of you kids," Steven told him. "And then there was Helga, who never went out at all, never talked of any friends, and seemed rather lonely, even then. Olga told me she was not well liked, had no friends, which I found real odd."

"Helga did that to herself," Arnold almost shouted.

"So Helga just chose to have no friends and no one tried to change her mind?" Steven asked.

"I did," he said.

"Anyone else?"

Arnold stayed quiet. No. No one else had.

"Arnold, Helga isn't in trouble with me," he told him. "I wouldn't put in her trouble, and I wouldn't treat her badly. Would i like a family with her? Yes, I would. And in the end Olga knew that. She knew Helga and I were crossing the line with each other. And I do authentically believe it was jealousy. It wasn't contraception she was giving Helga, Arnold. It was fertility medication."

That made Arnold stop. "Why?"

"Because Helga got accepted into a University that Olga tried to get into, but didn't," Steven told him. "Helga never found out, because Olga kept it from her and me. I found out about that, too, and we argued. We argued a lot. I guess she figured what better way to ruin Helga's life than to get her pregnant."

Arnold continued to say nothing, and Steven continued talking.

"Another University that has accepted her, is here, which is why I was quick to ask her to come with me," Steven told him. "I haven't told her any of this yet, so I would appreciate if you kept it to yourself. I want to be the one to sit down with her and tell her. She has an appointment to visit the day after tomorrow."

. . .

The next day found Helga walking around a museum. While looking at one sculpture she heard Arnold say he couldn't believe how many they had.

"It's like everyone here was an artist or something," he said, which made Helga laugh. "So Steven's paying for you to study here, huh?"

"Yeah," she said, turning to look at him. " How did you know?"

"He tracked me down yesterday, telling me that he loved you and I didn't, that you were going to go to University here," he told her. "And that he was glad I was getting something out of my trip, meaning the museum I was walking around."

"I haven't decided for sure," she told him. "My circumstances were different when I applied. I had a reason to runaway."

"And now?" he asked.

"Did you say you didn't love me?" she asked.

"No," Arnold said. "He said I didn't love you. Because when he asked me I didn't answer him."

"Why not?" Helga asked.

"Because I didn't know how he'd react if I told him I did," he told her. He saw Helga chewing on her lip. She was trying to decide if she believed him or not.

Arnold watched Helga thinking. Arnold was forming a plan in his head. He could see that Helga was still undecided. And something just didn't add up with Steven's story. What he needed was to get her to go back with him. Helga had told him what Steven had told her, which lined up with what he told Arnold, but . . . something didn't seem right . . . all he had to do was plant a seed of doubt in her about Steven. He was going to have play Steven at his own game. He just hoped it didn't hurt Helga too much in the end . . . but he had to get her back from him. He'd spoken to Lila the night before. She advised emotional blackmail as a start, then they'd go from there. Arnold wasn't sure he could pull it off, but he had to try.

"So do you think you'll come back?" he asked.

"Of course, for a little bit, anyway," she told him. Arnold nodded.

"Will you stay at Stonefield?" he asked. He didn't need to hear Helga's answer to get it. She went dead white. "I'll take that as a no then. You still have a room at the Boarding House."

"I know," she said quietly. "I'm just not sure it will be a good idea . . ."

Arnold didn't say anything to convince her. Lila told him not to be too pushy. So he wasn't going to be, though it was difficult not to be. He just wanted to grab her by her shoulders and shake some sense into her. "I need to get back to Grandpa, so I leave tomorrow. He's not doing too well, so I don't want to be away in case . . ."

"Yeah," Helga responded, frowning a bit.

"We only have each other, really," he said. "I'm not sure what's going to happen to the boardinghouse. The boarders can move on, but . . . I'm not sure what I would do."

"Can't you stay on there?" Helga asked. Arnold shook his head.

"Not if I want to go to University," he told her. "I'll have to sell it to get the tuition. I don't have any other family to fall back on, and all our friends are moving on. Worse comes to worse, I don't go."

"You have to go, Arnold," she told him. He shrugged.

" I need to go back to my hotel and pack. I leave early tomorrow morning," he said, smiling at her. "Good luck for tomorrow." He moved forward and hugged her, and slipped a folded piece of paper in her pocket.

He walked away, not looking back, but he could feel her staring at him.

. . .

"Are you ready for your interview tomorrow?" Steven asked her over dinner. Helga hadn't even been thinking about it. She was too busy thinking about Arnold, and his grandpa. How could she have taken off so close to his grandma's passing. She felt both selfish _and_ ungrateful.

"I'm not sure I want to attend here," she told him honestly. She wasn't feeling well all of a sudden. How stupid was she doing this? "I'm thinking I might want to attend closer to home."

"Did Arnold put you up to this?" he asked, sounding a bit angry. Helga shook her head. "Well, you were happy enough to stay here and go before he showed up."

"Yeah, but . . . I feel a bit homesick or something," she said, not looking up at him. "I just don't want to be here on my own."

"You wouldn't be on your own, Helga," he told her. "I'd be moving here too, and would travel to America when I need too. A bit of travel doesn't bother me."

Helga didn't say anything, just put some food in her mouth, though she was struggling to hold it down. She didn't want to live here with him. She didn't even want to live with him. She just wanted to go home. She could already see what would happen if she went to University here and he lived with her. She wouldn't be able to go out with friends, which means she probably wouldn't make any. And she'd be forever at his whim, being that she was relying on him to pay her tuition and keep her housed and fed. She looked over at Steven who was watching her intently. No. Staying here, under his thumb wasn't an option.

The idiocy of her coming here with him suddenly hit her full force.


	22. Chapter 22

(A/N: Will follow this chapter with an epilogue. I want to wrap it up. I hate stories that go one forever and ever and around and around, so I'm bringing this to an end. Mostly. Also TRIGGER WARNING: domestic violence)

Helga stood holding her breath after knocking on the door. She hoped he was still here. Steven had gone off for business in the morning, but swore he'd be back in time to take her to visit the University. She meanwhile had found herself standing in front of the door of the room Arnold was staying at, nervously waiting for him to answer. When he did he was in a towel.

"Helga, you came?" he asked, surprised. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and his hair was slicked back and wet. A puddle was forming at his feet as he stared there, stunned that she had actually shown up.

"Yeah, well, I had nothing else to do this morning, and I needed a walk," she said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other and trying not to look at Arnold.

"Come in," he said, suddenly realizing she was still standing in the hallway. When she walked in she looked around. It was small. But had it's own little ensuite. She peeked in to find a simple bath and shower, toilet and vanity. It was cozy. She watched as Arnold went over to his bed where he had some clothes laid out. "I'll just get changed and be with you in a minute."

 _'Don't worry about changing,'_ she thought silently, as he brushed past her. She shook her head, feeling embarrassed. What the heck was wrong with her? She sat down on the bed, then laid down on her back. It was surprisingly comfortable. She got up and laid down on the pillows, then sat up again. They smelled of him. It brought back the memory of that morning . . . she swallowed and looked down at her hands that had twisted themselves together. And that ring. That stupid ring. She started twisting it around and around, until eventually she took it off and put it in her pocket. It had left a red mark behind on her finger. She started feeling agitated, though she didn't know why. When the ensuite door opened she looked up to see him walking out in jeans and no shirt.

"I'm sure this was clean when I packed it," he was mumbling to himself. She watched as he leaned over and rummaged in his suitcase, finally pulling out a shirt and giving it a quick sniff. Unable to contain herself she burst out laughing. Arnold turned and looked at her. "What?"

She couldn't even answer him. Something about the whole scene just struck her as hilarious and when she tried to stop, she just laughed harder. It wasn't long before tears were streaming from her eyes and she was gasping for breath. Arnold caught the bug, and started to laugh too, though he had no idea what he was laughing about. Helga fell back against his pillows and slowly gained control of herself. Arnold on next to her.

"So what was so funny?" he asked.

"Steven would never do anything like that," she told him, smiling. "He's so damn organized."

Arnold stopped smiling and stared down at her. "Did you just critisize him?"

Helga sighed. "I've decided I don't want to go to University here, and he and I had a disagreement about it last night. He's blaming you. But . . . I just don't want to be here, with only him to rely on."

"But you'd make friends," Arnold told her, knowing very well that she wouldn't. Steven wouldn't let her. Or, he would choose her friends for her. One or the other. Man, she was making this easy. He laid down next to her, inhaling the scent of her perfume. It was intoxicating. He resisted the urge to touch her, kiss her . . .

"I don't think I would," she said, looking at him. "I mean, I would, but I don't think I'd keep them for long. I'd never get a chance to do anything with them. I'm thinking I might just give up the whole University thing."

"What?" he asked, genuinely shocked. "Why?"

"Because going to University, and having him pay for it, would leave me indebted to him," she told him. "I don't want that. I-"

"You?" Arnold asked, pushing this. _Say it, Helga, say it! You don't see yourself being with him forever._

"It's so hot in here," she said, fanning herself with her hand. "Why don't you use the air conditioning?"

"I didn't want to forget to turn it off, so I turned everything off last night," he told her. "That's why I'm having a shower."

She just shook her head instead, turning to look at him. He leaned in, against his better judgement and kissed her, expecting her to pull away. But she didn't. She did the complete opposite. She kissed him back, running her fingers along the side of his bare torso, causing goosebumps. He manouvered himself so he was leaning over her, deepening their kiss, and slipping his hands under her shirt and up. No bra. She had no bra!

"Why does this always happen with us?" she asked breathlessly.

Arnold didn't answer. He just pushed her shirt up and latched onto her left nipple, while his thumb went to her right. Helga just let her head fall back, and herself enjoy it. All thoughts of her interview and tour at the university vanished, any thoughts of Steven, gone. All she could think about was the feelings Arnold could ignite in her, the intoxicating scent of his shampoo, his body damp from the shower, hair still wet. She sighed.

Between the heat of the room, and the heat developing between their bodies, it wasn't long til they were both naked, both sweating, both coming together. It always happened so fast between them. There was no slow build up the way there was with Steven, who liked to explore her body. Arnold knew all the spots, and went straight for them. Which is just what Helga wanted at this time. Feeling him move inside her, her climax, his, she realized that this was where she wanted to be. With Arnold. Under him, beside him . . . just with him. She always had. Habit? Comfort? Who knew, who cared? At that moment in time she didn't. Even when he was finished, she continued, teasing him, tormenting him, taking over as the leader, and before he knew what was happening they came together again. The best part of having been with an older, more experienced man, was all the tips and tricks her had taught her, that she used on Arnold.

When they both finished again they collapsed against each other, but still had to touch and kiss. Before falling asleep.

. . .

An alarm going off woke them both. Arnold reached over to grab his phone and saw the time.

"Shit, I have to go or I'll miss the plane!" he shouted, bolting upright, causing Helga's head to drop onto the pillow.

"What?" she asked, confused. "What's happening?"

"And you need to get ready and gone, too!" he shouted at her, throwing her her discarded clothing. "You've got an two hours, I have three, go, go, go!"

Helga quickly got up and got herself dressed, wincing as she felt sperm leak out of her. ' _You're playing Russian roulette, Helga,'_ her brain warned her. _'You've been lucky so far . . .'_

When they were both dressed they stood there looking at each other, before Arnold spoke.

"So am I going to see you when you get back, or are you just going to pretend I don't exist. Again?" he asked.

Helga felt her eyebrows raise at his attitude. Seriously? They'd just had sex. Raw, passionate - to her mind anyway - sex, and he was giving her attitude?

"Not with that attitude," she snapped. "I'll see what happens when i get home. I have to sort some things out."

"What things?" Arnold asked, curious. What was she planning?

"Just things," she said, turning and leaving without even saying good-bye. By the time Arnold got to the door she was gone, and he didn't have time to go looking for her. Instead he growled and slammed the door. How could they go from being so hot, to so cold so fast? Maybe Gerald was right. Maybe he should just leave her to it.

No. No he couldn't. He wouldn't. He hated it, but he wasn't going to give up on her either.

. . .

"Where the hell have you been?" a frantic Steven demanded as she slunk in the door. "You have an hour and a half, Helga, so get dressed!"

Helga watched as he stormed out and stood there a bit shocked. He hadn't even noticed her looking less than perfect. On one hand, she was thankful, as she made her way to the bathroom. She needed a shower. On the other hand, she was mad. She knew she looked messy and unkempt. She even knew she was going to have to use make up to hide a "love-bite" from Steven and, well, everyone else in the world. Damn Arnold! Did he want them to get caught? Stepping into the shower she quickly washed her hair, and everywhere else, and quickly shaving where she needed to, before getting out and looking at the clock. How had she just spent fifteen minutes in the shower? It didn't feel like that long! She hurried to dry herself off, and then went straight to her make-up and started her regime. She opened the eye liner, but then decided against it. She didn't have the time to spend getting it perfectly even. In the end she covered the hickey on her coller bone, moisturised, put on some colored lip gloss, then went to get dressed as quickly as she could. Steven was talking on the phone when she entered the bedroom, and he walked out into the living area when she did. Helga frowned, while getting dressed.

What was going on with him? He'd gone from being someone who never let her out of his sight, to practically leaving her every chance he got. Not that she was complaining, she just wondered why. Once she was done, she let him know, and he hurried her out to the car. They had half an hour.

"You're cutting it fine, Helga," he growled at her, obviously angry. "Where were you anyway?"

"I got lost," she lied.

"Lost?"

"Lost."

Silence fell between them. She could tell he didn't believe her, but what could he say? He could accuse her, but right before she went to view the University and do an interview? He wouldn't. He seemed terrified that she would stuff this up and end up not getting in.

Maybe she'd screw up on purpose. She'd done that before, she could do it again . . .

When they arrived, she swore he was more nervous than she was. They introduced themselves, five minutes late, but were told to wait anyway. After a while an older man came and took Helga to do an interview and look at her portfolio, then showed her around the University. There were lot's of little grass areas with statues, one with a small fountain . . . it was nice, and the building was obviously very old.

Helga did want to go here, but . . . at the same time, she didn't like the thought of being so far away from help should she need it. She hated the idea of relying on Steven alone. She was doing sums in her head. She still had her share of inheritance, and she understood that she was going to get Olga's, too, as per her parent's will. While politely listening to him talk about the University, the expectations, she was doing sums in her head.

If she used her and Olga's inheritance, she could most likely pay for a majority of University. If she sold some of that expensive jewellery her sister had, she could probably come up with covering it all. Fees wise, anyway. And she could get a job to cover other expenses . . . she could do it. She was sure she could, and it would be done by her, and she wouldn't ow Steven a thing. She could chooses to go where she wanted to go.

Just probably not here. And that made her heart sink a bit.

"So how do you feel, Miss Pataki?" he asked her.

"Fine, sorry, I was just thinking," she said, looking around with her heart in her eyes. Her dream was so close, and yet . . . to grab it, would mean living in a cage. Her wings clipped, playing a puppet to Steven. Doing what he says, when he said it, how he said it.

"Well, take your time," he told her gently. "It's a big decision. If you decide not to take up our offer of a place here, I have no doubt, looking at your work, that you will find success elsewhere."

She nodded, looking at Steven who was smiling and talking to the receptionist. When he saw them coming he smiled at Helga. A flashback came back to her of that night a few years ago now, of him in that room with that woman. And she knew he'd seen other women behind Olga's back. She smirked. ' _A leopard never changes it's spots,_ ' popped into her mind. _'Once a cheater, always a cheater,'_ also came to mind. No. She needed to go home. She neeed to just leave him to it. He may not have family, but he wouldn't have a problem finding someone else to make one with. But it wasn't going to be her. She didn't want a family with him. She didn't want to live with him. She wanted Arnold.

If he'd have her.

. . .

"So what do you think?" Steven asked her afterwards. She was looking out the window, quietly.

"It was beautiful," she said. "But I don't want to go there."

"What?" Steven asked. "Why not?"

She just shrugged.

"You can't just shrug, Helga," he said to her. "You have to give me a proper answer."

"I don't have a bloody answer," she snapped at him. "I just want to go home, go through my sisters shit, and sort everything out from there!"

Steven glared at her, but Helga turned away, tears beginning to fall. Her frustration and anger was rising. It was an old familiar feeling, and she stoked it, deliberately making herself feel angrier. She was going to need that anger.

"You don't have to be so rude," Steven snapped back. "What the hell is going on with you?"

Helga shook her head.

"Maybe that psychologist was right, maybe you do need help," he mumbled.

"Yeah, maybe I do," she said.

They drove the rest of the way back in silence. When they arrived, Helga went up to the apartment alone, and Steven walked off. Helga ended up on the bed crying, feeling so sad and so angry at the same time. Hearing a roaring sound, she looked out at the sky, then at the clock. Watching the plane fly overhead, she thought about Arnold. That probably wasn't his plane, but soon enough he would be on one, flying away from her, leaving her behind to fend for herself. Her heart suddenly felt heavy, and her tears flowed hot and large again. She laid back down and held a pillow to herself. What was wrong with her?

She woke when she felt someone shaking her shoulder and calling her name. She opened her eyes and turned to see who it was.

"What?" she asked, sitting up.

"Let's go out for dinner," Steven said, looking as immaculately dressed as usual. She though again to just that morning, watching Arnold sniff his shirt to see if it was clean. She could never imagine Steven sniffing his shirt. He'd probably have someone do that for him. The memory brought a smile to her lips. "Oh, dinner makes you happy, huh?"

"Food always makes me happy," sh told him. It wasn't a lie. She did love food, and she was lucky that she was able to enjoy it without too much consequence. But that wasn't what was making her smile.

. . .

Steven could sense that something had changed in Helga. She wouldn't look at him when he spoke to her, seemed to almost blow him off when he approached her, using the excuse of not wanting to risk it. She'd never worried about it before. Trying desperately to break her out of this funk she seemed to be in, he took her to Giverny, to see Monet's Garden. It was romantic, and she seemed to relax and the did kiss on the bridge, but even that seemed not right. They stayed at a bed and breakfast near the gardens, and had dinner out. Again. He couldn't wait to get back to home cooked meals. And that night, Helga turned away from him, making it clear she wasn't interested in being intimate. And he saw why while she was sleeping, though said nothing at the time. He waited til they were on their way back to Paris, before saying anything. He pulled the car over on a country road.

"Why are we stopping?" she asked, looking at him.

"Did you fuck him?" he asked.

Helga pursed her lips, and her eyes went into slits. "Excuse me?"

"Arnold, is that who gave you that mark on your collar bone?" he demanded, pulling her shirt aside. It wasn't there.

"It was a bruise," Helga stated. "I didn't fuck Arnold, as you so eloquently put it."

"Don't lie to me, Helga," he warned.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she demanded. "I'm not fucking lying, God!"

Steven watched her as she got out of the car and slammed the door, kicking the side of it, swearing and glaring his way, ranting about stupid, suspicious, jealous men, then turned it on him, shocking him into silence for a momnet.

"And what about you, huh?" she demanded. "Always going off on your own to a "meeting". Pshhhh, I'll bet it is."

"What are you accusing me of, Helga?" he asked, also getting out of the car. They glared at each other over the top of the car.

"The same thing your accusing me of!" she yelled at him, her face turning red. "Not so nice, is it? Being accused of cheating. Only you have a history of it, don't you? So I have good reason to think-"

He'd moved so fast towards her that she didn't see it coming and it was a huge shock when she found herself on the ground, the side of her face both stinging and throbbing. She looked up at him shocked. The look on his face was something she had never seen on any other person's face before. Not even her fathers. He'd get angry, he'd yell, but he never, ever struck her or her mother. He looked down on men who hit women. Not even worthy of the worst insults he used to say.

"You hit me," she finally said, in complete disbelief. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

The look on his face changed suddenly, and he looked as shocked as she felt. "I dont, I'm sorry."

When he reached out to her she moved away from him.

"Your lucky my father is dead," she spat at him, pulling herself up. "Don't touch me, don't come near me." She went to the car and got in, again slamming the door behind him. She looked at him from the corner her her eye. He was just standing there, still looking stunned. Ten minutes passed, and he finally got back in the car and in dead silence, they drove back to the apartment. Once there, he put some money on the table for her to get dinner and walked out.

He didn't come back that night, though Helga couldn't sleep and laid awake, tense and waiting. He did show up the next morning though, looking disturbed.

"I think we need to talk," he said, sitting at the table, but looking down at his hands.

"You think?" she asked.

"Please don't give me attitude right now, Helga," he said, shaking his head. She walked over and sat down at the table. "I hit you."

"Yah, I know, and you left a nice bruise to prove it," she said, pointing out the purply-yellow bruise under her eye. It wasn't large and dark, but it was tender to the touch.

"It's how it started with my parents," he said. "As a child, my father would hit my mother. I never hit your sister. She never made me mad enough, I guess. Until yesterday, I'd never hit a woman."

"Didn't your father kill your mother?" Helga asked, feeling scared.

"Yeah," he said. "He found out she was cheating on him. He chased her down those damn stairs, and out the door and shot her. Then shot himself."

"Shit," Helga said. Steven frowned.

"Don't swear, Helga, it's no becoming," he ordered. Helga rolled her eyes. "The point is, I don't want that to be us. I love you, Helga, I do, but yesterday . . . what if I don't stop next time? What if I do something worse? Turn into my father?"

For a second, Helga's heart started to go out to him, but then she stopped the sympathy train. Was he trying to manipulate her again? Make her feel sorry for him, so she'd stay with him?

"What if you kill me, you mean?" she asked. "Good luck getting away with it."

"I can't risk it," he told her, looking up at her. "When we go back to America, i will have your sisters stuff sent to you at the Boarding House. I'll have all her funds transferred to your account. I'll make sure your tuition fees a paid, but that's it."

Helga's jaw dropped. Was he serious? "Really?"

"At the risk of sounding corny, Corinthians four through five," he told her. "To feel what I felt, that can't be love. Not real love."

Helga sat there, trying to think about what he was talking about. She would have to look it up when she got a chance. She knew it must be from the Bible . . .

"The point is, I need to let you go," he said. "If I keep you like I have been, I might hurt you, and I don't want that."

They were both silent for a while, before Steven finally got up.

"I'm staying in another hotel," he told her. "I'll leave you a number to reach me on if you need to. I'll come get you on the morning of our flight back." Walking over to her he kissed the top of her head, and turned quickly to leave, but Helga felt the tear that dropped onto her shirt. She touched her eyes, then watched him as he closed the door behind him. Her eyes were dry.

The tear wasn't hers.

. . .

Arnold was tossing a small basketball into a mini net on his bedroom wall, while spinning on his office chair. He was starting to get dizzy, and it was immature, but he was bored. He hadn't heard from Helga yet, and admitted to himself anyway, that he was worried about her. He had informed everyone about her, but not what they did that last morning he was there. Looking at the time he figured he had better go down to see if Suzie needed any help. When he got down there he stopped, his mouth dropping open to see Helga sitting at the table with his grandpa, laughing.

"Helga?" he asked, stunned. She smiled at him.

"Hey, Football Head," she said, using his old nick-name. It was like music to his ears. "How's it going?"

He walked in, hardly believing what he was seeing.

"Well, that's no way to greet your girlfriend, Shortman," his grandpa said, smiling.

He walked n and went right up to her, touching her face. "Where's Steven though?"

"Stonefield, I guess," she told him shrugging. "We went our seperate ways at the Airport. He broke up with me, so to speak."

"Broke up with you?" he asked, then took a closer look. "Is that a bruise?"

"Can we talk about this later," she said, looking at his grandpa from the corner of her eye. "How about we go out for dinner, though for the love of sin, I am cooking tomorrow."

She and Arnold went to a burger joint.

"Mmmm, I forgot how good these things taste," she said, licking up sauce before it could dribble down her chin.

"So what happened?" he asked.

"We got into an argument, after he found your calling card on my collar bone, and threw accusations at me, and i threw them back, and he hit me," she told him, taking another bite of her burger. "Ohhh, so good."

"He hit you?" Arnold asked, enraged. Helga nodded.

"Then he disappeared for the night and came back the next morning to tell me he couldn't be with me anymore, because he was worried he would hurt me, the way his father hurt his mother," she told him. "Told me Corinthians four through five. Looked it up, and it's that poem you hear that people say about love not being jealous or boastful and all that. Turns out it's not part of a poem, but came out of the Bible."

"Huh, what do you know?" Arnold said, sitting back.

"Anyway, Olga's things should arrive in the next few days or so, and he will be transferring all her account funds into my account, and is still willing to pay my tuition to and university I choose," she told him. "So, I won't be destitute."

"So, what does that mean?" Arnold asked. Helga looked at him.

"You wanna give us a go? A proper go?" she asked him, smiling shyly. He could see she was scared he was going to reject her. Here was his chance.

"I suppose so," he said, trying to act casual. "It's not like there's any other girl I'm in love with at the moment."

Helga shook her head and threw a chip at him.

"I love you, Football Head," she told him, before taking a bite from her burger.

"I love you too, Grumpy-skirt."

. . .

Helga sat on the floor of the bathroom, leaning the back of her head against the wall, eyes closed, trying to get a hold of herself. She was hot and cold and sweaty and shaky, and felt gross all over. Getting onto all fours she pulled herself up, standing unsteadily. She'd only been back for four weeks. So she guessed she was five, six? She needed a doctor.

"Helga, are you okay?" Arnold called through the door. Helga shook her head, before remembering he couldn't see her.

"I got the bullet," she shouted out to him, lurching over to the door and opening it. "I lost."

"What are you talking about?" Arnold asked. She lifted up a stick and Arnold stood back, looking at it. "Is that a pregnancy test?"

"Yep, and it's positive," she said, using the wall to lean against as she struggled to make her way to her room.

"Wait, so you're pregnant?" he asked. Helga nodded. "Now?"

"No, Arnold, next year," she snapped. She needed to lie down, suddenly exhausted. Arnold helped her to their room and helped her lay down on the bed. The whole room was spinning and she still felt nauseous. "Ugh, must be a boy!"

"We need to get you to a doctor," he said. "Get you looked at."

There was an un-asked question floating in the air between them.

"It will be yours," Helga told him. "I didn't sleep with him the whole time we were there."

With that she drifted off to sleep, and Arnold let out the breath he was holding, before making his way to the phone to make a doctor appointment for her.


End file.
